Self Test Study Guide Sample

STUDY GUIDESTUDY GUIDE

IT C e r t i f i c a t i o n

Te s t Preparation


Te s t Preparation

7 0 - 2 9 0 / Microsoft®

Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows

Server 2003 Environment

220-301 / CompTIA®

A+

CompTIA A+ Core Hardware

1Z0-040 / ORACLE®

Oracle Database 10g: New Features for Administrators

SAMPLE STUDY GUIDE

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Self Test Software Sample Study Guide

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Self Test Software Sample Study Guide



Pass the Exam with the Self Test Study Guide As a certification candidate, you’re on the lookout for as many test preparation resources as possible, but your time is at a premium. So, we put together the Study Guide with your study goals and busy schedule in mind. Create a study plan – and stick to it. Don’t try to cram. Set aside specific study times so you can thoroughly prepare for your exam. In our experience, following a disciplined prep schedule leads to success on Exam Day. To thoroughly gain the benefits of our Study Guide, we recommend that you start preparing about six weeks prior to taking your exam. Use all the prep tools in your Study Guide. Your Guide contains a full suite of products to help you thoroughly prepare for your exam. Each one is designed with a specific study purpose in mind. Here’s how we recommend you use the products together:

1. Perform a baseline checkup. Set your personal baseline by taking the Self Test Practice Test in Certification Mode. It is a timed test that simulates the real exam. Objective-based scoring shows you the areas you are relatively strong in, and those you need to devote additional time to.

2. Concentrate your studies by objective. Since your study time has to be in chunks, use the exam’s

structure by objective to help you organize your study sessions. Use each product to study at the objective level with particular emphasis on the objectives where you did not score 100% in your baseline checkup.

• Study Guide. Read the Study Guide by objective to familiarize yourself with the exam content. The

Study Guide is objective-driven and contains a Scope and Focused Explanation for each objective. At the end of each major objective is a Review Checklist that lists the key points covered in this area of the exam.

• Self Test Flash Cards. Drill through the Flash Cards by objective to be sure you know the fundamental concepts. Make Personal Study Notes with these cards to supplement your learning.

• Self Test Practice Test. Use the Practice Test in Learning Mode by objective. Answer the questions, read the tutorials, and use the Personal Study Notes to supplement your learning and/or highlight items that you’ll want to review before the exam.

• References. Use your favorite references (books, web references, etc.) to get additional materials on more complex subject matter.

3. Track your progress. You’ve completed your objective-driven study plan. Now you’re ready to see how you’ve progressed. Take the Self Test Practice Test in Certification Mode again. Did you score 100%? If not, go back to your objective study plan and focus on your weaknesses. Keep checking yourself, highlighting objectives that you’ll need to study, until you consistently score 100%.

Do your final preparation. Print the Review Checklists from the Study Guide and the Personal Study Notes from the Self Test Practice Test and Flash Cards. Use these as your condensed final review before taking the real exam. And, before taking the real exam, read the Test-Taking Strategies at the end of this guide to get specific techniques on approaching the different question types you may encounter. Finally, some last words of advice. During your studies and practice test drills, concentrate on the process - not totally on performance. What matters most is that you are using a disciplined approach that covers the materials on the exam and you know what to expect on exam day. Stay the course of your study plan and you will be ready to PASS THE EXAM!



Te s t Preparation


Te s t Preparation

7 0 - 2 9 0 / Microsoft®



220-301 / CompTIA®

A+


1Z0-040 / ORACLE®


SAMPLE STUDY GUIDE

�

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Microsoft 70-290 Study Guide



Contents

Contents......................................................................................................................... 3 Pass the Exam with the Self Test Study Guide ............................................................................................5 Managing and Maintaining Physical and Logical Devices ........................................ 6 Managing Basic Disks and Dynamic Disks...................................................................................................7 Installing Disks in Windows 2003 Server ....................................................................................................16 Mounting Volumes ......................................................................................................................................21 Basic Disks..................................................................................................................................................22 Dynamic Disks ............................................................................................................................................25 Monitoring Server Hardware .......................................................................................................................30 Optimizing Server Disk Performance..........................................................................................................37 Installing and Configuring Server Hardware Devices .................................................................................42 Review Checklist: Managing and Maintaining Physical and Logical Devices ............................................50 Managing Users, Computers, and Groups............................................................... 51 Managing Local, Roaming, and Mandatory User Profiles ..........................................................................52 Creating and Managing Computer Accounts in an Active Directory Environment .....................................57 Creating and Managing Groups..................................................................................................................60 Creating and Managing User Accounts ......................................................................................................68 Troubleshooting Computer Accounts..........................................................................................................74 Troubleshooting User Accounts..................................................................................................................78 Troubleshooting User Authentication Issues ..............................................................................................85 Review Checklist: Managing Users, Computers, and Groups....................................................................92 Managing and Maintaining Access to Resources .................................................... 93 Managing Shared Folder Permissions........................................................................................................94 Troubleshooting Terminal Services ............................................................................................................97 Troubleshooting Client Access to Terminal Services ...............................................................................105 Configure File System Permissions ..........................................................................................................111 Troubleshooting Access to Files and Shared Folders ..............................................................................116 Managing and Maintaining a Server Environment....................................................................................118 Review Checklist: Managing and Maintaining Access to Resources .......................................................133 Managing Servers Remotely .................................................................................... 134 Managing a Server Using Remote Assistance .........................................................................................135 Managing a Server Using Terminal Services Remote Administration Mode............................................141 Managing a Server Using the Available Support Tools ............................................................................143 Troubleshoot Print Queues .......................................................................................................................148 Monitoring System Performance...............................................................................................................152 Monitoring File and Print Servers..............................................................................................................160 Monitoring and Optimizing a Server Environment for Application Performance.......................................171 Managing a Web Server ...........................................................................................................................176 Review Checklist: Managing Servers Remotely .......................................................................................184 Managing and Implementing Disaster Recovery.................................................... 185 Performing System Recovery for a Server ...............................................................................................186 Managing Backup Procedures..................................................................................................................201 Recovering from Server Hardware Failure ...............................................................................................203 Restoring Backup Data .............................................................................................................................206 Scheduling Backup Jobs...........................................................................................................................210

About this Sample Guide

Contents

Highlighted items in the TOC are included in the sample.




Review Checklist: Managing and Implementing Disaster Recovery.........................................................215 Test Taking Strategies........................................................................................ 216 Thank You and Good Luck on your Exams! .............................................................................................220




Managing and Maintaining Physical and Logical Devices




Managing Basic Disks and Dynamic Disks Scope

Discuss the Disk Management console. Identify the different types of status that can be assigned to a disk volume. Discuss the different troubleshooting tasks that you can perform on a disk.

Focused Explanation

Microsoft Windows 2003 provides a simple yet powerful tool to manage disks in your system. The tool is called the Disk Management snap-in and is part of the Computer Management console. You can either manage the disks on a local system or a remote system by using the Disk Management snap-in. You can also use the Disk Management snap-in to configure disks in multiple formats.

The Disk Management snap-in supports the following tasks:

• Adding and removing hard disks

• Creating basic disks

• Creating dynamic disks

• Converting basic disks to dynamic disks

Using the Disk Management snap-in, you can perform several disk-related tasks, such as creating or deleting a partition or creating, deleting, and repairing volumes. You can also use the snap-in as an advanced option to work on fault tolerant volumes, such as RAID.

The Disk Management snap-in provides a graphical view of the disks and also displays the volumes or partitions on the disk. If the disks are working, the snap-in also indicates the status of the disks as Healthy. Figure 1-1 shows the Disk Management snap-in.


Figure 1-1: Disk Management Snap-in

The Disk Management snap-in is divided into two different sections. The top section represents the list view of the Disk Management snap-in. In this section, disks and partitions are displayed in detail, representing information such as type, file system, status of the disk or partition, total capacity, and free space. The bottom section of the Disk Management snap-in displays disk-based information and the available partitions on the disks. In the bottom section, you can distinguish how many physical disks are installed in a system, and how are they partitioned.

The Disk Management snap-in does not directly work with the disks but is dependent on a service called Logical Disk Manager Administrative Service (Dmadmin). This service is invoked when the Disk Management snap-in is invoked. The Dmadmin service is used to control the locally installed disks. When you invoke the Disk Management snap-in, it connects to the Logical Disk Manager service. This service locates the disks and displays the information in the Disk Management snap-in.

Using the Disk Management snap-in, you can manage systems that are running on Windows 2000 series, Windows XP Professional, or Windows 2003 series operating systems. The Disk Management snap-in can manage local as well as remote systems. You need to be a member of the Backup Operators group




or the Administrators group on the system from where you are connecting the remote system. The types of disks that can be configured on the remote system are not necessarily required to be configured on the local system. For example, if you need to configure mirrored volume on Windows 2000 Server, and Windows XP is your local system, you can still manage to configure it by remotely connecting the volume to the Windows 2000 Server. Mirrored volumes are not supported on Windows XP but the Disk Management snap-in enables you to remotely connect to Windows 2000 Server and configure mirrored volume.

You can also manage disks by using command line options. Microsoft provides a command line disk management tool utility called Diskpart. In Diskpart, you need to run a series of commands on the command prompt in a particular order. For example, to select a particular partition, you need to first list the available disks, select a disk, and then select a partition. You can display only the selected partitions on a disk. For example, if you have selected Disk 0, you can view the partitions only on Disk 0 and cannot view the partitions on Disk 1. Figure 1-2 illustrates the series of commands that you can use on the Diskpart command line.

Figure 1-2: List of Diskpart Commands






The following is the output of the Diskpart command line utility:

diskpart [/s <script>] [/?]

/s <script> - Use a DiskPart script.

/? - Show this help screen.

The following is a list of commands that you can use for different disk management activities.

• To list all the disks in a system, use the following command:

DISKPART> list disk

Output produced:

Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt

-------- ---------- ------- ------- --- ---

Disk 0 Online 9 GB 0 B

Disk 1 Online 37 GB 0 B

• To select a disk, use the following command:

DISKPART> select disk 0

Disk 0 is now the selected disk.

• To list the partitions on a selected disk, use the following command:

DISKPART> list partition

Output produced:

Partition ### Type Size Offset

------------- ---------------- ------- -------

Partition 1 Primary 4095 MB 32 KB

Partition 2 Primary 5546 MB 4095 MB


• To get the details of a partition, use the following command:

Partition 1

Type : 07

Hidden: No

Active: Yes

Output produced:

Volume ### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info

---------- --- -------- ----- -------- ------- ------- -------

* Volume 1 C NTFS Partition 4095 MB Healthy System

Disk Volume Status

In Disk Management snap-in, the active disk can be displayed in one of the following disk volume statuses:

• Healthy – The Healthy status is displayed when the volumes are working perfectly and there is no problem. The Healthy status needs no user intervention. This status may also display an additional substatus in parentheses. Figure 1-3 displays the substatus of a volume.

Figure 1-3: Substatus of a Volume

• A Substatus is marked on each volume or partition of a disk. In Figure 1-3, partition C of Disk 0 displays (System) as the substatus. The System substatus indicates that this volume is the system volume. The (Page File) substatus indicates a page file resides on the volume or the partition.

• Failed – The Failed status is displayed when the disk is not recognized by the operating system. It may also occur when a volume cannot be started automatically. This status is possible in both basic and the dynamic volumes. To repair a basic volume, ensure that the disk is properly connected in the system. To repair dynamic volumes, ensure that the dynamic disks are marked with the Online status. If the status is not marked Online, you need to reactivate them. After






reactivation, the status changes to Healthy. A Failed volume is marked with an error icon. If the Failed volume is repaired, it returns to the Healthy state, but if it fails to return to the Healthy status, data can be lost.

• Healthy (At Risk) – Healthy (At Risk) is the substatus of the Healthy status. Healthy (At Risk) states that the disk is currently working but there are input / output (I/O) errors that are detected on the dynamic disk. If one of the volumes on the dynamic disk displays the Healthy (At Risk) substatus, then the remaining dynamic volume on the disk will display the Healthy (At Risk) substatus. A warning icon is displayed when the Healthy (At Risk) substatus appears. This indicates that the dynamic volume is at risk. You need to reactivate the disk to remove the Healthy (At Risk) substatus. After the reactivation of the disk is successful, the disk returns back to the Healthy state. If the reactivation fails, then you need to change the disk after making a backup.

• Online – The Online status is displayed when the disk has no problem.

• Offline – The Offline status is displayed with an error icon indicating the Offline status. This error is specific to dynamic disk and normally occurs when the dynamic disk is either corrupt or unavailable. If a dynamic disk is marked with the Offline status, the name of the dynamic disk changes to Missing. The offline error occurs when the disk is corrupt, missing, disconnected, powered down, or removed from the system. To rectify this problem, you perform the following steps:

1. Check the power connection of the disk to ensure that the disk is properly powered.

2. In the Disk Management snap-in, right-click the Offline disk, and then select Reactivate Disk.

3. This brings the disk back to the normal status. If the disk does not come back to the normal working state, you need to remove the disk using the Remove Disk command.

Note: Before removing the disk, you should remove the volumes from the disk.

• Not Initialized – The Not Initialized status is marked on a newly installed disk in Windows 2003 Server. When you install a new disk, it is marked as Not Initialized. The Not Initialized status indicates that the disk does not contain the Master Boot Record (MBR) or the GUID partition table (GPT). The MBR and GPT need to be written on the disk partition table before a disk can be used in the server. Note: Each disk used by the operating system must move out of the Not Initialized state before it can be used.

After you install a disk in a system, you need to boot the system. When you invoke the Disk Management snap-in, a wizard is displayed, indicating that a new disk has been detected. You have the option of either using the wizard to make the disk usable or simply right-clicking on the newly installed disk to select the Initialize Disk option. Either of these steps will initialize the disk to be used in Windows 2003. Note: When the disk is initializing, the status of the disk changes to Initializing and after the initializing process is over, it changes to Online.




• Unreadable – The Unreadable status is marked on a disk when a basic or a dynamic disk is unreadable by the operating system. A disk can become unreadable due to a hardware failure, data corruption, disk configuration, or disk I/O errors. In case of basic disks, it is usually the failure of the entire disk, but in case of dynamic disk, it is generally the part of the dynamic disk that fails to perform or gets corrupted. The disk may also be marked as unreadable as it is scanned by the Disk Management snap-in. After scanning is complete, the disk’s status is reverted to its previous status. For example, if the disk was previously marked as Online, it will be marked as Unreadable during the scan operation, and the disk will revert back to its Online status after the scanning is complete.

• Unknown – The Unknown status is marked when a disk’s boot sector is corrupt, the file system used is not recognized, or you have installed a new disk but do not follow the wizard to create a new disk signature.

• Data Incomplete – The Data Incomplete status is marked when one of the disks from the disk set in a volume is missing. When data is split across multiple disks and one of the disks is moved, the remaining disks will be marked as Data Incomplete. Either the entire set is moved to a new location, or none of disks are moved. You cannot choose to move partial volume sets. It is only possible to move the entire volume set and import all disks at once.

• Data Not Redundant – The Data Not Redundant status is displayed in the Foreign Disk Volumes dialog box when there is a missing disk in the mirrored or the RAID-5 disk set. You need to connect all disks from the mirrored or RAID-5 disk set to avoid this error. In addition, you need to import all disks at the same time. Consider a scenario where you have a mirrored disk set on System A. This disk set is comprised of four disks. You remove two of the disks from system A and import them to System B. This action displays the Failed Redundancy error in the Foreign Disk Volumes dialog box for the remaining half of the disk set on System A. The imported disks on System B display the Missing error in the Foreign Disk Volumes dialog box. To avoid these errors, you must import the complete mirrored set.

• Failed Redundancy – A warning icon indicates the Failed Redundancy status. This status indicates that a mirrored volume or RAID-5 volume set is no longer fault tolerant. This error occurs when there is one or more disks are not online or are missing. You can still access the volume while the status is marked as Failed Redundancy. However, if one or more disks from the remaining volume set fail, you may loose the entire volume set and its data. To repair the Failed Redundancy status, you need to reactivate the disks in the volume that displays the Failed Redundancy error. Some of the substatuses that are displayed with Failed Redundancy are:

o System

o Boot

o Page File

o Crash Dump

o At Risk


• Stale Data – The Stale Data status generally occurs when there is a mirrored or RAID-5 volume

equipped with stale information. It can also occur when a stale parity information, mirrored, or RAID-5 volume has disk I/O errors.

The Windows 2003 operating system is capable of repairing damaged disks on its own. It is equipped with a series of tools that can manage disks when a problem occurs. For example, if a disk goes offline, it is possible to get it back to the online status.

Windows 2003 Server enables you to perform the following troubleshooting tasks on a disk: reactivate a disk, rescan a disk or volume set, repair a volume, and initialize a disk. By performing these tasks, you can manage disks even if they are not in a working state. Figure 1-4 illustrates the process of rescanning of disks in the Disk Management snap-in.

Figure 1-4: Rescanning Disks






• Rescan Disks – This task updates the hardware information and detects changes in the disk configuration. It scans all attached disks and updates the information accordingly. In addition to the attached disks, it also scans removable media and CD-ROM drives. If there is only one disk installed, the scanning process does not take much time. However, this process may take a longer time to complete if there are a large number of disks, removable media and CD-ROM drives connected. You can select to run Rescan Disks by choosing Rescan Disks from the Action menu in the Disk Management snap-in.

• Refresh – This task updates the driver letters of attached disks, volumes, and removable media information. When you select to refresh the disks, you can also check if there were any unreadable disks and if they can now be made readable. You can execute Refresh by selecting the Refresh option from the Action menu in the Disk Management snap-in.

• Reactivate – This task reactivates a disk before it can be used. You also reactivate the disk when the disk status is Missing or Offline. For example, when there is a problem with a dynamic disk, you will need to reactivate it before the disk can be used. The reactivate option works only with dynamic disks. Basic disks cannot support the reactivate feature of Disk Management. A disk can also be displayed as offline when there is an attempt to import a foreign dynamic disk. Whether a dynamic disk is missing or offline, you will need to reactivate it to make it available for use.

• Initialize – Any new disk that is added to Windows 2003 Server needs to be initialized first before it can be used. A new disk is marked as Not Initialized when it is added to the system. You can choose to initialize it and then create and format partition to make it usable. You can choose to use the MBR or GPT partitioning type on a new disk. However, if you do not choose any one of them, you cannot use the disk and the disk will remain in the Not Initialized state.




Installing Disks in Windows 2003 Server Scope

Discuss how to install disks in Windows 2003 Server.

Focused Explanation

The Add Hardware wizard enables you to install or uninstall hardware devices from your system. Unlike any previous version of Windows, a new disk cannot be used until it has been added using the Add Hardware wizard.

You can also use the Rescan Disks option from the Disk Management snap-in to scan for a new disk that has been added to the system. When you add or remove a disk from the system, you must use the Rescan command to update disk configuration. After the disk has been added to the Disk Management snap-in, you will need to initialize it. When you initialize a disk, the operating system adds a Signature Word, an end of sector marker, and a MBR or GPT to the disk.

Note: If you are using 64-bit version of Windows 2003, which is available on Itanium systems, you will be prompted to select the partition style. Windows 2003 on Itanium systems support GPT and EFI, which is Extensible Firmware Interface.

Importing a Foreign Disk

If a disk set is moved from one system to another system running Windows Server 2003, the disk set is marked as Foreign Disks. When a disk set is being moved to another system, it is better to move the entire disk set at one time. If there is a missing disk in the disk set, complications may arise. The solution is to move the entire disk set and import it in a single operation. In order to import a foreign disk set, you need to right click on the disk set and select Import Foreign Disks option from the context menu.

When you move a volume set from one system to another, depending on the type of volume set residing on the disks, a response is generated by the operating system. For example, if a spanned volume of three disks is moved from another system and there is a missing disk in the spanned volume, the Import option will be disabled in both the source and the target systems. The spanned volume will revert to its working state when the complete disk set is imported. The Import Foreign Disks option is enabled after detecting the complete spanned volume set. A simple volume disk can be used after it has been imported using the Import Foreign Disk option.

Whenever a disk or disk set is installed into a system, you must run the Rescan Disks command from the Action menu. Running the Rescan Disks command verifies the disk information. This installs the disk and configures the disk(s) for further use. If you have moved the disks from another system, you will need to run the Import Foreign disks command to further utilize the disks.

Before a disk can be used by the operating system, it must have a file systems installed. The file system enables you to use the disk and store data on it. Windows 2003 Server can use FAT, FAT32 and NTFS file systems.




FAT is one of the legacy file systems supported by operating systems, such as DOS. Operating systems such as Linux and Windows 2003 also support the FAT file system. FAT is also known as FAT16. It is a hierarchical file system and enables you to create folders and directories in a tree structure. FAT supported in Windows 9x does not allow you to create partition larger than 2 GB since it supports cluster size of 32 KB. There was an enhancement of FAT in Windows 2000 allowing the creation of partitions up to 4 GB and supporting a cluster size of 64 KB.

FAT32 first appeared in the second release of Windows 95, also known as Windows 95 OSR2. FAT32 is also a hierarchical file system and is supported by Windows 95 OSR2, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows XP, and Windows 2003. FAT32 provides support for large disk space up to 2 terabytes. Windows 2003 supports FAT32 partitions up to 32GB. Neither FAT nor FAT32 support file-level security.

Dual booting between different operating systems is also known as multibooting. Multibooting gives you an option to choose between different operating systems during the start up of your system. You may consider the following operating system combinations while dual booting:

• You can use either FAT or FAT 32 for Windows 2003 Server if there is a requirement of dual-booting with another operating system, such as windows 98. Windows 9x does not support NTFS partitions. Therefore, you cannot use NTFS for dual-booting. However, it is recommended that you use NTFS partitions for Windows Server 2003.

• Windows NT Workstation does not provide support for FAT32. Therefore, you need to use the FAT file system when multibooting with using this operating system.

• Windows 95 cannot use FAT32. Therefore, while dual booting with Windows Server 2003, you need to use the FAT file system on the partition where you are installing Windows 95. Any other partition that you need to access using Windows 95 will also need to use the FAT file system.

Table 1-1 lists the different file systems supported by Windows operating systems:

Windows Operating System FAT FAT32

Windows 95 OSR2 and OSR2.5 Yes Yes

Windows NT4 Workstation Yes No

Windows 98 and Second Edition Yes Yes

Windows Millennium Yes Yes

Windows 2000 Family Yes Yes

Windows XP Home and Professional Yes Yes

Window Server 2003 Family Yes Yes

Table 1.1




NTFS file system was developed after FAT. NTFS is also a hierarchical file system. NTFS is superior to FAT or FAT32 file systems in terms of the security features it offers. One of the biggest advantages of using NTFS is file-level security. NTFS is available in two different versions, NTFS 4.0 and NTFS 5.0. By default, Windows 2003 installs NTFS 5.0. However, if you are upgrading from Windows NT 4.0, it will continue to support NTFS 4.0. Windows NT can use NTFS 5.0 when upgraded with Service Pack 4 or later. Table 1-2 lists the different operating system supported by NTFS:

Windows Operating System NTFS

Windows 95 OSR2 and OSR2.5 No

Windows NT4 Workstation Yes

Windows 98 and Second Edition No

Windows Millennium No

Windows 2000 Family Yes

Windows XP Home and Professional Yes

Window Server 2003 Family Yes

Table 1.2

Maximum cluster size in NTFS is 64 KB and the supported partition size is 16 Exabytes (EB). NTFS provides the following advantages:

• Support for Active Directory – In order to install Active Directory, you must have an NTFS partition on the system. Active Directory cannot be installed and configured using the FAT file system.

• Compression – NTFS file system gives you the power to compress your drives. Using compression, you can extend hard disk space. You can also compress or uncompress files or folders.

• Scalability – Unlike the FAT file systems, NTFS can be used on large drives. NTFS supports as large as 16 Exabytes of partition size.

• Encryption – NTFS also supports file-level encryption. You can encrypt files, folders or drives. When a file is stored in an encrypted form, an unauthorized person cannot read it. Only the file owner can access the file. However, it is not possible to encrypt files or folders on compressed drives. You need to first uncompress the files or folders in order to encrypt them. Windows 2003 provides a utility called Cipher to encrypt or decrypt files and folders.




• Disk Quota – On NTFS partitions, you can use the disk quota feature to manage your disk space. Using this feature, you can assign limited disk space to individual users and set warning levels. It is also possible to deny additional disk space after a user has exceeded the defined disk quota. You can also set the disk quota based on volume. This way the disk quota tracks the disk space used by a particular volume.

• File-level permissions – Unlike FAT that does not support file-level permissions, NTFS allows you to assign file-level permissions. You can set permissions for individual users and groups on a particular file or folder. This enhances operating system security.

• Sparse Files – A sparse file is the data file that stores data in zeros. A large data file consists of thousands of data values and thousands of zeros. This file is called a sparse file and it stores zeros in encoded form. When encoded zeros are used to store data, it stores data in compressed form. When a user attempts to access a large file, the file is uncompressed and opened for the user. The file is returned to its compressed state when the user closes the file.

• Indexing – NTFS also support Change Journals. Change Journals keep track of the indexes created by different applications. This improves performance of applications, because indexes do not need to be refreshed repeatedly.

• Recovery Logging – NTFS keeps track of the operating system activities. This helps if there is a system failure or abrupt shutdown of the operating system. NTFS restores the operating system as it was working before abrupt shutdown.

• Remote Storage – You can extend hard disk space without adding more disks to your system by using the remote storage feature. Files are copied on to the magnetic tapes or magneto-optical media disks, also known as MO Disk. Even though the data resides on the tapes or MO disks, it is cached locally, allowing faster data access. In Remote Storage data, data is stored in hierarchical format. The hierarchy is defined on two different levels, the lower level and the upper level. The lower level is known as Remote Storage and resides on tapes or media disks. The media disks or tapes have to be connected to the system. The upper level is known as Local Storage and stores the NTFS disks of the system that is running Remote Storage.

NTFS has the following disadvantages:

• NTFS is not supported on floppy drives. Floppy disks can only be formatted with FAT.

• Advanced features of NTFS 5.0, such as disk quotas, are not supported on Windows NT 4.0 or earlier versions. Windows NT supports NTFS 5.0 only after loading service pack 4.0.

• NTFS cannot be accessed from Windows 95 and Windows 98.

There are two ways to convert a FAT partition to NTFS. You can use the Disk Management snap-in to convert a partition to NTFS or use the convert.exe command line utility to convert the partition to NTFS. In the Disk Management snap-in, right click on a partition (for example, drive letter D) and format it using the NTFS partition. Ensure that you have moved your data to another location or created a backup.


The convert.exe command line utility does not require any formatting. You can simply run this utility to convert a partition from FAT to NTFS. You do not loose any data when you are using the convert utility. You use this utility when you install Windows 2003 using the FAT partition and later convert the FAT partition to NTFS. Figure 1-5 displays the command to convert FAT partition to NTFS.

Figure 1-5: Convert command

When the convert command is run, it attempts to lock the drive before converting the file system. If it cannot lock the drive, it prompts to convert the file system of the drive in the next reboot. The performance of the converted drive is generally slower than the drive originally formatted with NTFS. This is because the Master File Table or MFT for the converted drive is created in another drive. Convert command does not create the MFT in the same drive. During the conversion process, convert locks the disk and this slows down the performance of the drive.

The following is an example of the convert command:

convert d: /fs:ntfs /v

In this example, D drive is being converted from FAT to NTFS and conversion of the file system is being done in Verbose mode.

It is not possible to revert from NTFS to FAT file system. If you need to revert to FAT, you need to backup all data, format the drive to FAT partition, and restore the data to the drive. All file-level security and compression will be lost.






Review Checklist: Managing and Maintaining Physical and Logical Devices

Identify the types of status that can be assigned to a disk volume.

Understand how to manage basic disks and dynamic disks.

Know how to install disks in Windows 2003 Server.

Identify the different categories of Dynamic disks.

Understand Device Manager and its functionality.

Discuss optimizing server disk performance.

Discuss the use of RAID-0, RAID-5, and Striped volumes.

Know how to install server hardware devices

Know how to configure server hardware devices.




Test Taking Strategies The Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), Microsoft Certified System Administrator (MCSA), and Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE) credentials identify a standard of competence for entry-level and professional job roles that utilize Microsoft products. Microsoft's certification program is a recognized credential that signifies a proven level of knowledge and ability. With each level of certification, a higher benchmark of ability is set for greater opportunities and higher pay.

The 70-290 exam is a proctored exam, which may be taken at a Prometric or VUE testing center.

Microsoft Certification Roadmap

The 70-290 Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment exam fulfills a core exam requirement for the MCSA on Microsoft Windows Server 2003 certification. For more information on this certification, see http://www.microsoft.com/traincert/mcp/mcsa/windows2003/. It also can be used to fulfill a core exam requirement for the MCSE on Microsoft Windows Server 2003 certification. For more information on this certification, see. http://www.microsoft.com/traincert/mcp/mcse/windows2003/. For details on the 70-290 exam, see the 70-290 Preparation Guide at http://www.microsoft.com/traincert/exams/70-290.asp.

A Microsoft candidate should combine training with on-the-job experience. Many of the exam questions are based on real-world scenarios so hands-on experience with the software is vital.

Registering for the Exam

An exam candidate may register for the 70-290 at one of the following sites:

http://www.vue.com

Or

http://www.prometric.com

Resources

There are several resources produced by Microsoft that you may use to prepare for this exam. These resources include the Microsoft Official Curriculum courseware used in instructor-led training, Microsoft Self-Paced Training Kits, and Microsoft Online Resources. For more information, see the 70-290 Preparation Guide at http://www.microsoft.com/traincert/exams/70-290.asp.

http://www.microsoft.com/traincert/mcp/mcsa/windows2003/

http://www.microsoft.com/traincert/mcp/mcse/windows2003/

http://www.microsoft.com/traincert/exams/70-290.asp

http://www.vue.com/

http://www.prometric.com/

http://www.microsoft.com/traincert/exams/70-290.asp




Test Day Strategies

The most important test day strategy is be thoroughly prepared for the exam beforehand. You must know the material. Cramming the day of the exam is not a good strategy to use for any type of test, especially certification exams.

Microsoft allows you to go back to questions that you previously answered, so manage your time wisely. If a question requires too much time to answer, select the best possible answer, mark the item for review, and return to the question after answering all of the other questions.

General Tips

• Schedule your exam only after you are confident that you have mastered the subject matter.

• Schedule your exam for a time of day when you perform at your best.

• Eliminate all distractions from your testing area.

• Allow 2.5 hours to complete the registration and exam.

• Eat a light meal beforehand.

• Review the question types carefully before starting the actual exam. Be careful not to bypass this option because you are in a hurry to finish.

• Everything you do has time limitations, so don't let the pressure overwhelm you.

Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment Specific Tips

• Before starting the exam, review your short stack of reserved flash cards, Review checklists, and/or personal study notes to remind yourself about terms, topics, and syntax that are likely to appear on the exam.

• Determine how much time you are allotted to answer each question. Do not spend too much time on a given question during your first pass through the exam.

• Remember that if you take a break during the exam, the time clock continues.

• If you are disconnected during the exam, you will be able to resume where you left off.




Test Item Types

The 70-290 exam contains multiple-choice, Drag and Drop, Active Screen, and Hot Area items. While knowing the technical content for this exam is the most important thing you can do to pass the exam, understand the methodology of the item type and following a strategy of how to answer each type can mean the different between passing and failing.

Multiple-Choice

1. Read each multiple-choice item with the intention of answering the item without the alternatives that follow. Focusing on finding an answer without the help of the alternatives will increase your concentration and help you read the question more clearly.

2. Understand that multiple choice items with round radio buttons requires a single response, and multiple choice items with square radio buttons require one or more responses. If more than one response is required, pay special attention to the “directive” sentence of the question (“Choose two. Each correct answer…..”). This will indicate whether the different responses are independent or corresponding, as indicated below:

“Choose two. Each correct answer represents a portion of the solution.”

When this directive is given, each of the correct responses, when taken together, will provide the desired result. Sometime each response will be a different, independent answer:

“Choose two. Each correct answer represents a unique solution.”

When this directive is given, each response can be used independently to provide the desired solution. In other words, there are two ways to achieve the same result.

3. Use the process of elimination when you do not know the answer for sure. If the question has a single answer and four options are listed, eliminate two of these options quickly and make the decision between the two that remain. This increases your probability to 50/50. Another helpful methodology is to identify a likely false alternative and eliminate it. This elimination method is particularly helpful when the item requires more than one answer.

4. When two very similar answers appear, it is likely that one of them is the correct choice. Test writers often disguise the correct option by giving another option that looks very similar.

Select-and-Place

Read each Select-and-Place item with the intention of answering the item without the alternatives that follow. Focusing on finding an answer without the help of the alternatives will increase your concentration and help you read the question more clearly.

The correct answers must be dragged to the appropriate areas in the answer portion of the diagram.

Use the process of elimination when you do not know the answer for sure. Most Select-and-Place items have many options that can be dragged to multiple answer areas. Try to eliminate options for certain




answer areas. Using this methodology, you can sometimes narrow certain answers down to only a few areas. For example, IP addresses should not be used in subnet mask areas, and vice versa.

When two very similar answers appear, it is likely that one of them is the correct choice. Test writers often disguise the correct option by giving another option that looks very similar.

Hot Area

The hot area questions are typically screen shots of a portion of the user interface such as the properties box for a component in the Microsoft Management Console (MMC). You will be instructed to click on the correct answer (area) within the graphic.

Use a combination of your experience and a process of elimination to answer the more challenging ones to arrive at the correct answer.

Active Screen

Active screen questions are typically screen shots of a portion of a user interface. You will be asked to perform an action within the screen shot to achieve the desired result. Before attempting to answer, be sure to try each drop-down menu, radio button, and text field to see which are operational for that particular question.

While the same screen shot may be used for more that one question, the active areas within that screen shot may change. Therefore, you will need to explore which areas are active for each question.

You may see questions that integrate both active screen and select and place items.

You can download a free demo on our Web site that mimics the types of questions that will appear on the exam. Sample questions do not cover all the content areas on the exam.



Te s t Preparation


Te s t Preparation

7 0 - 2 9 0 / Microsoft®



220-301 / CompTIA®

A+


1Z0-040 / ORACLE®


SAMPLE STUDY GUIDE

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Oracle 1Z0-040 Study Guide



Contents

Contents......................................................................................................................... 3 Pass the Exam with the Self Test Study Guide ............................................................................................5 Oracle 10g Installation, Configuration, and Maintenance: Oracle 10g New Features for Administrators......................................................................................................... 6 Describing Installation Features....................................................................................................................7 Describing Configuration Features .............................................................................................................13 Describing Maintenance Features ..............................................................................................................22 Review Checklist: Oracle 10g Installation, Configuration, and Maintenance: Oracle 10g New Features for Administrators .............................................................................................................................................25 Managing Data: Oracle 10g New Features for Administrators................................ 26 Working with Data Pump.............................................................................................................................27 Working with Cross-Platform Transportable Tablespaces and External Tables ........................................43 Review Checklist: Managing Data: Oracle 10g New Features for Administrators......................................49 Working with the Scheduler: Oracle 10g New Features for Administrators .......... 50 Introducing the Scheduler ...........................................................................................................................51 Creating Scheduler Components................................................................................................................53 Reusing Scheduler Components ................................................................................................................62 Monitoring and Managing the Scheduler ....................................................................................................73 Review Checklist: Working with the Scheduler: Oracle 10g New Features for Administrators ..................77 Automating Database Monitoring and Administration: Oracle 10g New Features for Administrators....................................................................................................... 78 Automating Database Management ...........................................................................................................79 Manageability Infrastructure........................................................................................................................88 Describing Resource Manager Enhancements ..........................................................................................96 Review Checklist: Automating Database Monitoring and Administration: Oracle 10g New Features for Administrators .............................................................................................................................................99 General Storage Management Enhancements: Oracle 10g New Features for Administrators........................................................................................................... 100 Working with Tablespaces ........................................................................................................................101 Describing Enhancements to Database Indexes......................................................................................114 Review Checklist: General Storage Management Enhancements: Oracle 10g New Features for Administrators ...........................................................................................................................................117 Automated Space and Storage Management: Oracle 10g New Features for Administrators........................................................................................................... 118 Describing Enhanced Space Management Features ...............................................................................119 Describing Automated Storage Management ...........................................................................................140 Review Checklist: Automated Space and Storage Management: Oracle 10g New Features for Administrators ...........................................................................................................................................152 Application Tuning and Enhanced Security Features: Oracle 10g New Features for Administrators........................................................................................................... 153 Application Tuning.....................................................................................................................................154 Enhanced Security Features.....................................................................................................................167 Review Checklist: Application Tuning and Enhanced Security Features: Oracle 10g New Features for Administrators ...........................................................................................................................................174


Contents





Enhanced Backup and Recovery Features: Oracle 10g New Features for Administrators........................................................................................................... 175 Performing Backups..................................................................................................................................176 Miscellaneous Backup and Recovery Features........................................................................................179 Flashing Back Logical Errors ....................................................................................................................183 Review Checklist: Enhanced Recovery and Backup Features: Oracle 10g New Features for Administrators ...........................................................................................................................................189 Miscellaneous New Features: Oracle 10g New Features for Administrators....... 190 SQL Enhancements ..................................................................................................................................191 Miscellaneous Database Enhancements..................................................................................................211 Review Checklist: Miscellaneous New Features: Oracle 10g New Features for Administrators..............216 Taking the Test Strategies ........................................................................................................................217 Thank You and Good Luck on your Exams! .............................................................................................220




Working with the Scheduler: Oracle 10g New Features for Administrators




Introducing the Scheduler Scope

Describe the basic and advanced components of the Scheduler.

Focused Explanation

Introducing Scheduler Components

The Scheduler is collection of procedures and functions in the DBMS_SCHEDULER package. The Scheduler enables you to control the execution of tasks, such as administration and data warehousing, and specify when and what task should be performed in a database environment. For example, you can schedule and monitor database maintenance jobs, such as backups and data warehousing tasks, using the Scheduler. The Scheduler enables you to manage a database environment by breaking a task into manageable components, called jobs.

The Scheduler has two types of components, basic and advanced. The following are the basic components of the Scheduler:

• Program – Specifies what job should be performed by the Scheduler. A program is a collection of metadata information about the task performed by the Scheduler. The metadata information includes the name of the program, its type, and its arguments. The program type can be an anonymous PL/SQL block, stored procedure, or operating system executable.

• Schedule – Specifies when and how many times a job will run. You can schedule jobs to run immediately or at a later time. When you create a schedule, you can specify a date and time for the jobs that you want to run at a later date or time. You can also specify the end date and time for the jobs that you want to execute for a time period. The end date and time specifies when the job will expire.

• Job – Specifies a user-defined set of actions that is scheduled to run. A job specifies the actions to be performed and the schedule on which these actions will be performed. You can create a job either using an inline schedule and program or using an existing schedule and program.

Note: An inline schedule or the program can be defined as part of job definition when you create a job.

The following are the advanced components of the Scheduler:

• Job class – Specifies a group of jobs that share the same characteristics and resource usage requirements. A job can belong to only one job class and one resource consumer group. The resource consumer group of a job determines the resources allocated to the job.

• Window – Represents a time interval, during which you can change the resources allocated to a job. A window is defined by a specific start and end time. You can activate only one window at a time. You can also assign priorities to windows when creating them. If the time interval of two or more windows overlaps, the window with the higher priority is selected over the window with the lower priority.




• Window group – Represents a group of related windows. A window group provides more control over the jobs that are currently running using windows in the window group. You can create window groups in the Scheduler by using the CREATE_WINDOW_GROUP procedure.




Creating Scheduler Components Scope

Describe the process of creating programs. Describe the process of creating schedules. Describe the process of creating jobs. Describe the process of creating job classes. Describe the process of creating windows. Describe the process of creating window groups.

Focused Explanation

Creating Programs in the Scheduler

You must be granted the CREATE JOB privilege to create a program in your own schema and the CREATE ANY JOB privilege to create programs in other users' schemas in a database. You should grant the EXECUTE privilege on the programs you create for other users to run these programs. You can create programs in the Scheduler using the CREATE_PROGRAM procedure. The following are the various attributes of the CREATE_PROGRAM procedure:

• program_name – Specifies the name of the program you want to create. The name of the program must be unique in the SQL namespace.

Note: The SQL namespace is defined as the set of names accessible to you at a given point in Oracle.

• program_type – Specifies the type of program. You can assign one of the following three values to the program_type attribute:

o PLSQL_BLOCK – Specifies PL/SQL code.

o STORED_PROCEDURE – Specifies a stored procedure.

o EXECUTABLE – Specifies an operating system executable.

• program_action – Specifies the PL/SQL code, the name of a stored procedure, or the name of an operating system executable, depending on the value specified for the program_type.

• number_of_arguments – Specifies the number of arguments you want to pass to the stored procedure or the operating system executable specified in the program_action attribute.

• enabled – Specifies whether or not a program should be enabled. You should enable a program before using it.

• comments – Specifies the description of a program.




Programs are created by default in your own schema. To create programs in other users' schemas, you must qualify the name of the program with the user's schema name. For example, to create a program, SAMPLEPROGRAM1, in your own schema that executes a script named samplescript.sh, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.CREATE_PROGRAM( 3 program_name =>'SAMPLEPROGRAM1', 4 program_action =>'/samplescript.sh', 5 program_type =>'EXECUTABLE', 6 comments =>' ‘This program executes the script samplescript',

7 enabled =>TRUE); 8 END;

Passing Arguments to Programs

You can also pass arguments to programs created in the Scheduler. For example, to create a program that executes a stored procedure, PROCEDURE2, which accepts two arguments, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.CREATE_PROGRAM( 3 program_name =>'SAMPLEPROGRAM2', 4 program_action =>'PROCEDURE2', 5 program_type =>' STORED_PROCEDURE', 6 number_of_arguments =>2, 7 comments =>'This program executes a stored procedure, PROCEDURE2, which accepts two arguments'); 8 END;

You can define arguments to be passed to a program using the DEFINE_PROGRAM_ARGUMENT procedure. The following are the various attributes of the DEFINE_PROGRAM_ARGUMENT procedure:

• program_name – Specifies the name of the program for which you want to define arguments. You should first create a program before defining the arguments for it.

• argument_name – Specifies the name of the argument you want to define.

• argument_position – Specifies the position of an argument when you pass the argument to a program. The argument_position attribute can accept values from 1 to the number_of_arguments attribute defined when creating the program.

• argument_type – Specifies the data type of the argument.

• default_value – Specifies the default value of the argument that can be used by a program for an argument if you do not pass that argument to the program.




For example, type the following statements at the SQL prompt to define two VARCHAR2 arguments, ARGUMENT1 and ARGUMENT2, to be passed to the program SAMPLEPROGRAM2: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.DEFINE_PROGRAM_ARGUMENT( 3 program_name =>'SAMPLEPROGRAM2', 4 argument_name =>'ARGUMENT1', 5 argument_position =>1, 6 argument_type =>'VARCHAR2',

7 default_value =>'x'); 8 DBMS_SCHEDULER.DEFINE_PROGRAM_ARGUMENT( 9 program_name =>' SAMPLEPROGRAM2', 10 argument_name =>'ARGUMENT2', 11 argument_position =>2, 12 argument_type =>'VARCHAR2',

13 default_value =>'y'); 14 END;

Creating Schedules in the Scheduler

You can create schedules in the Scheduler by using the CREATE_SCHEDULE procedure. You must be granted the CREATE JOB privilege to create a schedule in your own schema and the CREATE ANY JOB privilege to create schedules in the schemas of other users. The following are the various attributes of the CREATE_SCHEDULE procedure:

• schedule_name – Specifies the name of the schedule you want to create. The name of the schedule must be unique in the SQL namespace.

• start_date – Specifies the date on which a schedule becomes active. The default value of this attribute is NULL.

• end_date – Specifies the date on which a schedule becomes inactive. The end_date attribute must have a value either greater than the value of the start_date attribute or NULL .The default value of the end_date attribute is NULL, which specifies that the job using the current schedule will run indefinitely.

• repeat_interval – Specifies how frequently a job using the specified schedule should run. The repeat_interval is specified as a calendaring expression that includes the frequency and time that a job should run.

• comments – Specifies the description of a schedule.




For example, type the following statements at the SQL prompt to create a schedule, SCHEDULE1, which runs every four weeks: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.CREATE_SCHEDULE( 3 schedule_name =>'SCHEDULE1', 4 start_date =>'SYSTIMESTAMP', 5 end_date =>NULL, 6 repeat_interval =>'FREQ=WEEKLY;INTERVAL=4',

7 comments =>'Every 4 weeks'); 8 END;

Creating Jobs in the Scheduler

You can create jobs in the Scheduler using the CREATE_JOB procedure. You must be granted the CREATE_JOB privilege to create a job in your own schema and the CREATE ANY JOB privilege to create jobs in the schemas of other users. The following are some of the commonly-used attributes of the CREATE_JOB procedure:

• job_name – Specifies the name of the job you want to create.

• program_name – Specifies the name of the program to be used by the job.

• schedule_name – Specifies the name of the schedule to be used by the job.

• job_class – Specifies the class to which the current job belongs. If you do not specify the job_class attribute, the job belongs to the DEFAULT_JOB_CLASS job class.

• auto_drop – Specifies that a job should be automatically deleted when the job is completed or is finished executing. The default value for this attribute is TRUE. Repeating jobs that have an auto_drop value of TRUE will be dropped when the entire job is completed, and jobs that execute only once will be deleted after the job executes.

• comments – Specifies the description of a job.

You can create a job in the following three ways:

• Use a previously created program and schedule

• Use a previously created program and an inline schedule

• Use a previously created schedule and an inline program




You must use the following attributes in place of the schedule_name attribute when you create a job that does not use a previously created schedule:

• start_date – Specifies the date on which you want to activate a job.

• end_date – Specifies the date on which you want to deactivate a job. The end_date attribute must have a value greater than the value of the start_date attribute or a value of NULL.

• repeat_interval – Specifies how frequently a job should be repeated. If you do not specify the repeat_interval attribute, the job runs only once on the date specified in the start_date attribute. The repeat_interval is specified as a calendaring expression that includes the frequency and time that a job should run.

When you create a job that does not use a previously created program, you must use the following attributes in place of the program_name attribute:

• job_type – Specifies the type of a job. The job_type attribute is similar to the program_type attribute. You can assign one of three values to the job_type attribute: PLSQL_BLOCK, STORED_PROCEDURE, or EXECUTABLE.

• job_action – Specifies the action performed by a job. The job_action attribute is similar to the program_action attribute, and can have a value of PLSQL_BLOCK, STORED_PROCEDURE, or EXECUTABLE.

• number_of_arguments – Specifies the number of arguments passed to the stored procedure or the operating system executable that are executed by a job. A job can accept between 0 and 255 arguments, with the default being 0. An error is generated if you attempt to specify a value for number_of_arguments with a job_action value of PLSQL_BLOCK.

For example, to create a job, INC_SALARY, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.CREATE_JOB( 3 job_name =>'INC_SALARY', 4 job_type =>'PLSQL_BLOCK', 5 job_action =>'UPDATE EMP SET sal=sal+1000; ', 6 start_date =>'10-JUN-05 12:00:00 AM', 7 end_date =>'10-DEC-07 12:00:00 AM',

8 repeat_interval =>'FREQ=YEARLY;INTERVAL=1', 9 comments =>'Increment salary of the employees every year'); 10 END;

In these statements, a job named INC_SALARY is created. The INC_SALARY job does not use a previously created program or schedule. Both the program and schedule are specified inline, as a part of the job definition. The INC_SALARY job runs every year and increments the values in the sal column of the EMP table by 1000 every year until December 10, 2007.




Specifying the Calendaring Expressions

Oracle 10g provides calendaring expressions to specify the repeat_interval attribute when you create jobs or schedules in the Scheduler. A calendaring expression consists of the following three parts:

• Frequency – Specifies how frequently a job runs. You use the FREQ keyword to specify frequency when creating a schedule. The frequency can be one of the following values:

o YEARLY – Specifies that a job will run yearly.

o MONTHLY – Specifies that a job will run monthly.

o DAILY – Specifies that a job will run every day.

o HOURLY – Specifies that a job will run each hour.

o MINUTELY – Specifies that a job will run each minute.

o SECONDLY – Specifies that a job will run each second.

• Interval – Specifies the time period between the different runs of a job based on the job's specified frequency. For example, if a job runs yearly and value of interval is 2, then the job runs every two years. You use the INTERVAL keyword to specify the interval when creating a schedule. The value of interval is an integer and can be from 1 to 999. The default interval is 1.

• Specifier – Specifies detailed information about the execution of a job. You use a specifier name keyword to indicate the specifier when creating a schedule. By using this specifier along with the interval and frequency, you can determine the days and hours on which a job will run. The following are the possible specifiers for a job:

o BYMONTH – Specifies the month on which a job should run. The value of BYMONTH can be from 1 to 12 or from JAN to DEC.

o BYWEEKNO – Specifies the week number of the year on which a job should run. The value of BYWEEKNO can be from 1 to 53.

o BYYEARDAY – Specifies the day of the year as a number, on which a job should run. The value of BYYEARDAY can be from 1 to 366.

o BYMONTHDAY – Specifies the day of the month on which a job should run. The value of BYMONTHDAY can be from 1 to 31. You can also specify negative values of BYMONTHDAY. For example, a value of -1 means last day of the specified month.

o BYDAY – Specifies the day of the week on which a job should run. The value of BYDAY can be from MON to SUN.

o BYHOUR – Specifies the hour of the day at which a job should run. The value of BYHOUR can be from 0 to 23.




o BYMINUTE – Specifies the minute of the hour at which a job should run. The value of BYMINUTE can be from 0 to 59.

o BYSECOND – Specifies the second of the minute at which a job should run. The value of BYSECOND can be from 0 to 59.

For example, to run a job every 10 days at 8:15 A.M., the calendaring expression is:

FREQ=DAILY;INTERVAL=10;BYHOUR=8;BYMINUTE=15;BYSECOND=0;

Creating Job Classes in the Scheduler

You can create job classes in the Scheduler using the CREATE_JOB_CLASS procedure. All the job classes that you create in the Scheduler belong to the SYS schema. To create a job class, you must be granted the MANAGE SCHEDULER privilege. To create jobs that belong to a particular job class, you must be granted the EXECUTE privilege on that job class. The following are some of the commonly-used attributes of the CREATE_JOB_CLASS procedure:

• job_class_name – Specifies the name of the job class you want to create.

• resource_consumer_group – Specifies the name of the resource consumer group to which a job class belongs. If you do not specify the resource_consumer_group attribute, the job class belongs to the DEFAULT_CONSUMER_GROUP resource consumer group.

• service – Specifies the name of the service to which the job class belongs.

• comments – Specifies the description of the job class.

For example, to create a job class, JOBCLASS1, that is a member of the SYS_GROUP resource consumer group, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.CREATE_JOB_CLASS( 3 job_class_name =>'JOBCLASS1', 4 resource_consumer_group =>'SYS_GROUP'); 5 END;




Creating Windows

Windows enable you to activate different resource plans at different times. A resource plan is defined as a component of the Resource Manager that enables users to prioritize resources among different resource consumer groups. You can specify priorities in resource plans. When a window is opened, the resource plan associated with the window is used for all running or scheduled jobs. This allows you to control when specific resource plans are used. The SYS user owns all the windows you create. To create windows, you must be granted the MANAGE SCHEDULER privilege. You can create windows using the CREATE_WINDOW procedure. The following are the some of the commonly-used attributes of the CREATE_ WINDOW procedure:

• window_name – Specifies the name of the window you want to create.

• resource_plan – Specifies the name of the resource plan to which the current window belongs. You can associate only one resource plan with a window.

• schedule_name – Specifies the name of the schedule associated with the current window.

• duration – Specifies the time interval for which a window will be open. When a window is open, the Scheduler switches to the resource plan that has been associated with the window during its creation.

• window_priority – Specifies a priority value that determines the window that will be open when windows overlap. You can assign one of two values to the window_priority attribute, HIGH or LOW. The default value of the window_priority attribute is LOW.

• comments – Specifies the description of a window.

You can create windows in the Scheduler either using a previously-created schedule or by specifying a schedule when creating the window. You must replace the schedule_name attribute with the start_date, end_date, and repeat_interval attributes if you do not create a window using a previously-created schedule.

For example, to create a window, WINDOW1, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.CREATE_WINDOW( 3 window_name =>'WINDOW1', 4 resource_plan =>NULL, 5 start_date =>SYSTIMESTAMP, 6 duration =>INTERVAL '60' MINUTE, 7 repeat_interval =>'FREQ=DAILY;BYHOUR=8', 8 window_priority =>'HIGH', 9 comments =>'This is my first window'); 10 END; These statements create a window, WINDOW1, which will open on the current date and will be open for 60 minutes. The window will again reopen daily after eight hours.




Creating Window Groups

A window group is a collection of one or more windows, created in the SYS schema. A window group controls jobs when they are running. You can create window groups using the CREATE_WINDOW_GROUP procedure. You can specify the windows that will be members of a window group either when creating the window group or after creating the window group, using the ADD_WINDOW_GROUP_MEMBER procedure. A window group cannot be a member of any other window group. To create window groups, you must be granted the MANAGE SCHEDULER privilege. The following are the attributes of the CREATE_WINDOW_GROUP procedure:

• group_name – Specifies the name of the window group you want to create.

• window_list – Specifies a comma-delimited list of the windows that will be members of the specified window group.

• comments – Specifies the description of a window group.

For example, to create a window group, GROUP1, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.CREATE_WINDOW_GROUP( 3 group_name =>'GROUP1'); 4 END;

You can add windows to a window group using the ADD_WINDOW_GROUP_MEMBER procedure. To add windows WINDOW1 and WINDOW2 to the window group, GROUP1, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.ADD_WINDOW_GROUP_MEMBER( 3 window_name =>'GROUP1',

4 window_list =>'WINDOW1,WINDOW2'); 5 END;




Reusing Scheduler Components Scope

Describe how to manage the basic and advanced components of the Scheduler. Describe how to set the Scheduler attributes.

Focused Explanation

Managing Jobs

You can perform various operations on jobs. You can enable a job, disable a job, run a job, stop a job, copy a job, alter a job, and change the priority of a job. To perform any of these operations on a job, you must be the owner of the job, must be granted the ALTER ANY JOB privilege or must be granted the CREATE ANY JOB privilege.

Enabling Jobs

You must enable jobs before running them because jobs are, by default, disabled at the time of creation. You can enable jobs by using the ENABLE procedure. You can also enable multiple jobs at a time by providing multiple job names, in a comma-delimited list, as an argument to the ENABLE procedure. For example, to enable jobs JOB1 and JOB2, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.ENABLE('JOB1,JOB2'); 3 END;

Disabling Jobs

You can disable a job using the DISABLE procedure. A job can also become disabled itself if either the job class to which the job belongs is dropped or the program or schedule that the job uses is dropped. When a job is disabled, the state of the job is changed to DISABLED in the job table. The job table stores the state of all the jobs in the Scheduler. You can also disable multiple jobs at a time by providing multiple job names, in a comma-delimited list, as an argument to the DISABLE procedure. For example, to disable jobs JOB1 and JOB2, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.DISABLE('JOB1,JOB2'); 3 END;

Running Jobs

You can run an enabled job using the RUN_JOB procedure. The RUN_JOB procedure accepts two arguments, job_name and use_current_session. The job_name argument specifies the name of the job you want to run, and the use_current_session attribute specifies whether the job will use the current user session to run or will run in the background. The use_current_session attribute is optional and its default value is TRUE.




For example, to run a job, JOB1, in the background using the RUN_JOB procedure, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.RUN_JOB('JOB1',FALSE); 3 END;

Stopping Jobs

You can stop currently-running jobs using the STOP_JOB procedure. The STOP_JOB procedure accepts two arguments, job_name and force. The job_name argument specifies the name of the job that you want to stop. You can also stop multiple jobs at a time by providing multiple job names, in a comma-delimited list, as an argument to the STOP_JOB procedure. The force argument specifies that a running job will be stopped forcefully if the interrupt mechanism used by the Scheduler to stop a job is not able to stop the running job. To forcefully stop the currently-running jobs JOB1 and JOB2, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.STOP_JOB('JOB1,JOB2',TRUE); 3 END;

Dropping Jobs

You can drop a job using the DROP_JOB procedure. The DROP_JOB procedure accepts two arguments, job_name and force. The job_name argument specifies the name of the job that you want to drop or the name of a job class for which you want to drop all jobs. You can also drop multiple jobs at a time by providing multiple job names, in a comma-delimited list, as an argument to the DROP_JOB procedure. Dropping a job removes the job from the job table and the *_SCHEDULER_JOBS views. When a job is dropped, no subsequent runs of the job will occur. In addition, when a job is dropped, all argument values set for the job are also dropped. To drop a job that is currently executing, you must set the force argument of the DROP_JOB procedure to TRUE. To drop the jobs JOB1 and JOB2, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.DROP_JOB('JOB1,JOB2'); 3 END;

To drop the JOB1 job that is currently running, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.DROP_JOB('JOB1',TRUE); 3 END;




Copying Jobs

You can use the COPY_JOB procedure to copy the attributes of one job to another job. The COPY_JOB procedure creates a new job with a new name and attributes of the old job. By default, the new job created is disabled and the original job's state is unchanged. The COPY_JOB procedure accepts two arguments, old_job and new_job. For example, to copy the attributes of an existing job, JOB1, to a new job, JOB2, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.COPY_JOB('JOB1', 'JOB2'); 3 END;

Altering Jobs

You can alter a job using the SET_ATTRIBUTE procedure. The SET_ATTRIBUTE procedure accepts three arguments, name, attribute, and value. To alter a job, JOB1, and set the job_class attribute for JOB1 to JOBCLASS2, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.SET_ATTRIBUTE( 3 name => 'JOB1', 4 attribute => 'job_class', 5 value => 'JOBCLASS2'); 6 END;

Note: You cannot use the SET_ATTRIBUTE procedure to set the value of an attribute to NULL. If you need to set value to NULL for an attribute, you must use the SET_ATTRIBUTE_NULL procedure.

Changing Job Priorities

You can change the priority of a job using the SET_ATTRIBUTE procedure. Job priority can be from 1 to 5. The highest job priority is 1, and the lowest job priority is 5. To change the priority of a job, JOB1, to a priority of 3, type the following statement at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.SET_ATTRIBUTE( 3 name => 'JOB1', 4 attribute => 'job_priority',

5 value => 3); 6 END;

Managing Programs

You can perform various operations on a program. You can enable a program, alter a program, disable a program, and drop a program.




Enabling Programs

You must enable a program before a job can use that program. This is because by default, the programs created are disabled. You can enable a program using the ENABLE procedure. The ENABLE procedure accepts the name of the program as an argument. You can also enable multiple programs at a time by providing a comma-delimited list of program names as an argument to the ENABLE procedure. To enable programs, PROG1 and PROG2, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.ENABLE('PROG1,PROG2'); 3 END;

Altering Programs

You can alter a program using the SET_ATTRIBUTE procedure. To alter a program, PROG1, and set its number_of_arguments attribute to a value of 3, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.SET_ATTRIBUTE( 3 name => 'PROG1', 4 attribute => 'number_of_arguments', 5 value => '3'); 6 END;

The currently-running jobs using the program you alter are not affected by the changes in the program.

Disabling Programs

You can disable a program using the DISABLE procedure. The DISABLE procedure accepts two arguments, name and force. The name argument specifies the name of the program to be disabled. You can also disable multiple programs at a time by providing a comma-delimited list of program names as an argument to the DISABLE procedure. To disable a program that has jobs associated with it, you must set the force argument of the DISABLE procedure to TRUE. When a program is disabled, none of the jobs associated with the program will run. To disable programs, PROG1 and PROG2, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.DISABLE('PROG1,PROG2'); 3 END;

The currently-running jobs using the program you disable are not affected.




Dropping Programs

You can drop a program using the DROP_PROGRAM procedure. The DROP_PROGRAM procedure accepts two arguments, program_name and force. The program_name argument specifies the name of the program that you want to drop. The force argument specifies whether or not the program will be dropped if a job uses this program. The default value of the force argument is FALSE, which specifies that the program will not be dropped if a job uses this program. If the force argument is TRUE, the program will be dropped and the jobs using the program will be disabled. In addition, when a program is dropped, all argument values set for the program are also dropped. To drop the programs, PROG1 and PROG2, and disable the jobs used by PROG1 and PROG2, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.DROP_PROGRAM('PROG1,PROG2',TRUE); 3 END;

Dropping a program does not affect the currently-running jobs that are using this program. The currently-running jobs continue to run.

Dropping Program Arguments

You can also drop arguments of a program using the DROP_PROGRAM_ARGUMENT procedure. The DROP_PROGRAM_ARGUMENT procedure accepts two arguments, program_name and either argument_position or argument_name. The program_name argument specifies the name of the program whose argument you want to drop. The argument_position argument specifies the position of the argument to drop as specified during the creation of the program. The argument_name argument specifies the name of the argument you want to drop. For example, to drop the argument ARGU1 in the program PROG1, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.DROP_PROGRAM_ARGUMENT( 3 program_name => 'PROG1', 4 argument_name => 'ARGU1'); 5 END;

The currently-running jobs, which are using the program you want to alter, are not affected when you drop the arguments of the program.




Managing Schedules

You can perform two operations on schedules, drop and alter. You can drop a schedule using the DROP_SCHEDULE procedure. The DROP_SCHEDULE procedure accepts two arguments, schedule_name and force. The schedule_name argument specifies the name of the schedule you want to drop. The force argument specifies whether or not the program will be dropped if a job uses this program. The default value of the force argument is FALSE, which specifies that the schedule will not be dropped if a job uses this schedule. To drop the schedules SCH1 and SCH2 only if they are unused by a job or window, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.DROP_SCHEDULE('SCH1,SCH2'); 3 END;

When you alter a schedule, the changes in the schedule will not affect the currently-running jobs that are using the schedule. You can alter a schedule using the SET_ATTRIBUTE procedure. To alter the schedule SCHEDULE1 and change its start_date to December 10, 2005, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.SET_ATTRIBUTE( 3 name => 'SCHEDULE1', 4 attribute => 'start_date', 5 value => '10-DEC-2005 12:00:00 AM'); 6 END;

Managing Job Classes

You can perform two operations on a job class, alter and drop. The currently-running jobs are not affected by these two operations on a job class. You can change the job class of a job after creating the job. You can alter all the job classes except the default job class in the Scheduler. You use the SET_ATTRIBUTE procedure to change the job class of a job. To change the job class of a job, JOB1, to JOBCLASS2, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.SET_ATTRIBUTE( 3 name => 'JOB1', 4 attribute => 'job_class', 5 value => 'JOBCLASS2'); 6 END;

You can drop a job class using the DROP_JOB_CLASS procedure. The DROP_JOB_CLASS procedure accepts two arguments, job_class_name and force. The job_class_name argument specifies the name of the job class that you want to drop. You can also drop multiple job classes at a time by specifying a comma-delimited list of job class names as an argument to the DROP_JOB_CLASS procedure. The force argument specifies whether or not the job class will be dropped if a job uses this job class. The default value of the force argument is FALSE, which specifies that the job class will not be dropped if a job uses this job class. If you specify a force value of TRUE, the jobs associated with this job




class will be disabled and their job class will be altered to be the default job class. To drop a job class, JOBCLASS1, and disable all the jobs in JOBCLASS1, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.DROP_JOB_CLASS( 3 job_class_name => 'JOBCLASS1',

4 force => TRUE); 5 END;

Managing Windows

You can perform various operations on windows. You can open a window, enable a window, alter a window, close a window, disable a window, and drop a window.

Opening Windows

When you open a window, the Scheduler switches to the resource plan that was associated with the window during its creation. A window can open in the following two ways:

• Based on a schedule specified during creation of a window

• Using the OPEN_WINDOW procedure

You can open a window using the OPEN_WINDOW procedure and can specify the duration for which that window will be open by using the duration attribute. This duration will overwrite the duration specified during the creation of the window. The OPEN_WINDOW procedure opens a window regardless of its schedule. If you try to open a window that does not exist, the Scheduler generates an error. By default, if you open a window and there is already another open window, the Scheduler generates an error. However, if there is an already open window, you can set the force argument to TRUE when calling the OPEN_WINDOW procedure. In this case, the Scheduler automatically closes the already-open window even if the open window has HIGH priority. When you open a window, there are entries in the *_SCHEDULER_WINDOW_LOG views. To open a window, WINDOW1, even if there is already an open window, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.OPEN_WINDOW( 3 window_name => 'WINDOW1', 4 force => TRUE); 5 END;




Enabling Windows

Windows are created enabled by default. You can enable a window using the ENABLE procedure. The ENABLE procedure accepts the name of the window as an argument. You can also enable multiple windows at a time by providing a comma-delimited list of window names as an argument to the ENABLE procedure. To enable windows, you must precede the window names by SYS. For example, to enable a window, WINDOW1, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.ENABLE('SYS.WINDOW1'); 3 END;

Altering Windows

You can alter a window by using the SET_ATTRIBUTE procedure. When you alter a window, it does not affect the window if it is open. To alter a window, WINDOW1, and change its resource_plan to RESOURCEPLAN2, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.SET_ATTRIBUTE( 3 name => 'WINDOW1', 4 attribute => 'resource_plan', 5 value => 'RESOURCEPLAN2'); 6 END;

Closing a Window

The following are the two ways in which a window can be closed:

• Based on a schedule specified during the creation of the window

• Using the CLOSE_WINDOW procedure

If you try to close a window that is not open or does not exist, the Scheduler generates an error. Closing a window does not affect the currently-running jobs that are using that window. A window is closed either when its duration is over or when you manually close the window using the CLOSE_WINDOW procedure. To manually close a window, WINDOW1, using the CLOSE_WINDOW procedure, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.CLOSE_WINDOW( 3 window_name => 'WINDOW1'); 4 END;




Disabling Windows

You can disable a window using the DISABLE procedure. The DISABLE procedure accepts two arguments, name and force. The name argument specifies the name of the window to be disabled. You can also disable multiple windows at a time by providing a comma-delimited list of window names as an argument to the DISABLE procedure. To disable a window that is open or currently being used by a job, you must set the force argument to TRUE. To disable windows, you must precede the window names by SYS. To disable an unopened window, WINDOW1, that has no jobs using it, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.DISABLE('SYS.WINDOW1'); 3 END;

The currently-running jobs, which are using the window you disable, are not affected. The currently-running jobs continue to run.

Dropping a Window

When you drop a window, all the metadata information about the window is removed from the *_SCHEDULER_WINDOWS views. You can drop a window using the DROP_WINDOW procedure. The DROP_WINDOW procedure accepts two arguments, window_name and force. The window_name argument specifies the window to be dropped. You can drop multiple windows at a time by providing a comma-delimited list of window names as an argument to the DROP_WINDOW procedure. To drop an open window or a window that is referenced by a job, you must set the force argument to TRUE. To drop a window, WINDOW1, using the DROP_WINDOW procedure, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.DROP_WINDOW('WINDOW1'); 3 END;

Dropping a window does not affect the currently-running jobs that are using that window.

Managing Window Groups

You can perform other various operations on a window group. You can remove a member from a window group, enable a window group, disable a window group, and drop a window group.




Removing Window Members from a Window Group

You can remove a member from a window group using the REMOVE_WINDOW_GROUP_MEMBER procedure. The REMOVE_WINDOW_GROUP_MEMBER procedure accepts two arguments, group_name and window_list. The group_name argument specifies the window group from which you want to remove a member. The window_list argument specifies the window that you want to remove from the specified window group. You can simultaneously remove multiple members from a window group by providing a comma-delimited list of window names to the REMOVE_WINDOW_GROUP_MEMBER procedure. To remove a window, WINDOW1, from a window group, WINDOWGROUP1, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.REMOVE_WINDOW_GROUP_MEMBER('WINDOWGROUP1', 'WINDOW1'); 3 END;

If you remove a window from a window group, which is being used by the currently-running jobs, the running jobs continue to run.

Enabling and Disabling Window Groups

You can enable and disable a window group using the ENABLE and DISABLE procedures, respectively. When providing the window group names to the ENABLE and DISABLE procedures, you must precede the window group names by SYS. To enable a window group, WINDOWGROUP1, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.ENABLE('SYS.WINDOWGROUP1'); 3 END;

To disable a window group, WINDOWGROUP1, using the DISABLE procedure, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.DISABLE('SYS.WINDOWGROUP1'); 3 END;

If you disable a window group, which is being used by the currently-running jobs, the running jobs are not affected.




Dropping Window Groups

You can drop a window group using the DROP_WINDOW_GROUP procedure. The DROP_WINDOW_GROUP procedure accepts two arguments, group_name and force. The group_name argument specifies the name of the window group to be dropped. To drop a window group that has jobs referencing it, you must set the force attribute to TRUE. When you drop a window group, the window group is dropped, but the windows that are members of the window group remain intact. To drop a window group, WINDOWGROUP1, using the DROP_WINDOW_GROUP procedure, type the following statements at the SQL prompt: SQL> BEGIN 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.DROP_WINDOW_GROUP('WINDOWGROUP1'); 3 END; Dropping a window group does not affect the currently-running jobs.




Monitoring and Managing the Scheduler Scope

List various views to display information about the basic and advanced components of the Scheduler. Describe the process of viewing the information about the jobs in the Scheduler. Describe how to monitor and manage job and window logs using various database views, including DBA_SCHEDULER_JOB_LOG and DBA_SCHEDULER_WINDOW_LOG.

Focused Explanation

Viewing Information about the Scheduler Components

You can query various views to obtain information about the components of the Scheduler. Table 3-1 shows some of the views used to query the information about the components of the Scheduler. Views Description DBA_SCHEDULER_PROGRAMS ALL_SCHEDULER_PROGRAMS USER_ SCHEDULER_PROGRAMS

Displays information about Scheduler programs.

DBA_SCHEDULER_PROGRAMS_ARGUMENTS ALL_SCHEDULER_PROGRAMS_ARGUMENTS USER_SCHEDULER_PROGRAMS_ARGUMENTS

Displays information about the arguments of Scheduler programs.

DBA_SCHEDULER_JOBS ALL_SCHEDULER_ JOBS USER_ SCHEDULER_JOBS

Displays information about Scheduler jobs.

DBA_SCHEDULER_JOBS_ARGUMENTS ALL_SCHEDULER_ JOBS_ARGUMENTS USER_ SCHEDULER_JOBS_ARGUMENTS

Displays information about the arguments of Scheduler jobs.

DBA_SCHEDULER_JOB_CLASSES ALL_SCHEDULER_JOB_CLASSES

Displays information about Scheduler job classes.

DBA_SCHEDULER_GLOBAL_ATTRIBUTES ALL_SCHEDULER_GLOBAL_ATTRIBUTES

Displays information about the global attributes of the Scheduler.

DBA_SCHEDULER_WINDOWS ALL_SCHEDULER_WINDOWS

Displays information about Scheduler windows.

DBA_SCHEDULER_WINDOW_GROUPS ALL_SCHEDULER_WINDOW_GROUPS

Displays information about Scheduler window groups.

DBA_SCHEDULER_WINGROUP_MEMBERS ALL_SCHEDULER_WINGROUP_ MEMBERS

Displays information about the members of all window groups.

DBA_SCHEDULER_RUNNING_JOBS ALL_SCHEDULER_ RUNNING_JOBS USER_ SCHEDULER_ RUNNING_JOBS

Displays information about currently-executing jobs.

DBA_SCHEDULER_SCHEDULES ALL_SCHEDULER_SCHEDULES

Displays information about Scheduler schedules.

Table 3-1: The Scheduler Views




Viewing Information about Jobs in the Scheduler

A job in the Scheduler can be in one of the following states at any time:

• DISABLED – Specifies that a job is disabled.

• SCHEDULED – Specifies that a job is scheduled to run.

• RUNNING – Specifies that a job is currently running.

• COMPLETED – Specifies that a job is completed.

• BROKEN – Specifies that a job is broken.

• FAILED – Specifies that a job was scheduled to run and has failed.

• RETRY SCHEDULED – Specifies that a job has failed and a retry is scheduled to run the job again.

• SUCCEEDED – Specifies that a job was scheduled to run and it has successfully run at least once.

• REMOTE – Specifies that a job is scheduled to run remotely.

You can check the state of a job by querying the DBA_SCHEDULER_JOBS view. The STATE column contains the state of the job. To query the DBA_SCHEDULER_JOBS view to see the STATE of all jobs in the job class JCLASS1, type the following statement at the SQL prompt:

SQL> SELECT JOB_NAME,STATE FROM DBA_SCHEDULER_JOBS WHERE JOB_CLASS='JCLASS1';

To see information for currently-running jobs, type the following statement at the SQL prompt:

SQL> SELECT * FROM DBA_SCHEDULER_RUNNING_JOBS;

Monitoring and Managing Job and Window Logs

Job and window logs maintain the information about jobs, job runs, and windows. A new entry is inserted into the respective logs, whenever a job or window-related event occurs.

Job Logs

An entry is inserted into the job log whenever you create, alter, enable, disable, run or drop a job. You can query the DBA_SCHEDULER_JOB_LOG view to retrieve the contents of the job log. To query the DBA_SCHEDULER_JOB_LOG view, type the following statement at the SQL prompt:

SQL> SELECT LOG_DATE,JOB_NAME,OWNER,OPERATION FROM DBA_SCHEDULER_JOB_LOG;




You can also query the DBA_SCHEDULER_JOB_RUN_DETAILS view to view the log run details for all Scheduler jobs in the database. For example, to view the information about a particular job run of the JOB1 job, type the following statement at the SQL prompt: SQL> SELECT LOG_ID,LOG_DATE,OWNER,JOB_NAME,STATUS FROM 2 DBA_SCHEDULER_JOB_RUN_DETAILS WHERE JOB_NAME='JOB1';

Logging Levels for Jobs

You can also control the level of logging that the Scheduler performs on a job. The following are the three logging levels:

• DBMS_SCHEDULER.LOGGING_OFF – Specifies that the Scheduler will not perform logging for jobs.

• DBMS_SCHEDULER.LOGGING_RUNS – Specifies that the Scheduler will write detailed information in the job log about all the runs of each job in a specific job class.

• DBMS_SCHEDULER.LOGGING_FULL – Specifies that the Scheduler will write the information in the job log related to all the operations performed on all the jobs in a specific job class.

You can specify the logging level for a job class when creating the job class by setting the logging_level attribute to the required logging level. You can also specify the logging_level attribute for an individual job. To specify full logging for a job, JOB1, type the following statement at the SQL prompt: SQL> EXEC DBMS_SCHEDULER.SET_ATTRIBUTE('JOB1', 'logging_level', 2 DBMS_SCHEDULER.LOGGING_FULL);

Window Logs

An entry is inserted into the window log for every window operation, including whenever you create, drop, open, close, disable, enable, or overlap a window. You can query the DBA_SCHEDULER_WINDOW_LOG view to retrieve the contents of the window log. To query the DBA_SCHEDULER_WINDOW_LOG view, type the following statement at the SQL prompt: SQL> SELECT LOG_DATE, WINDOW_NAME,OPERATION FROM 2 DBA_SCHEDULER_WINDOW_LOG;

You can also query the DBA_SCHEDULER_WINDOW_DETAILS view to view the log run details for all Scheduler windows in the database. For example, to view the information about a particular window, WINDOW1, type the following statement at the SQL prompt: SQL> SELECT LOG_ID,LOG_DATE,WINDOW_NAME,WINDOW_DURATION FROM 2 DBA_SCHEDULER_WINDOW_DETAILS WHERE WINDOW_NAME='WINDOW1';




The DBA_SCHEDULER_WINDOW_LOG view contains the values in the LOG_ID column for all the Scheduler windows. The DBA_SCHEDULER_WINDOW_DETAILS view also contains the corresponding rows with the same value of the LOG_ID column for the Scheduler windows that are open.

Purging Logs

By default, the Scheduler runs daily and purges the window and job logs based on the value specified by the log_history attribute. The default for the log_history attribute is 30, indicating that window and job log entries older than 30 days old will be purged when the Scheduler performs the purge. However, you can override this default setting for how long log entries should be kept by using the SET_SCHEDULER_ATTRIBUTE procedure and setting a new value for the log_history attribute. The SET_SCHEDULER_ATTRIBUTE procedure accepts two arguments, attribute and value. The attribute indicates the attribute you want to change, in this case log_history. The value attribute specifies the value of the specified attribute, in this case the number of days that you want to retain window and job log entries. For example, to change the number of days for window and job logs retention to 40, type the following statement at the SQL prompt:

SQL> EXEC DBMS_SCHEDULER.SET_SCHEDULER_ATTRIBUTE('log_history', '40');

You can also specify the retention period for the window and job log entries for a specific job class by using the SET_ATTRIBUTE procedure to set the value of the log_history attribute for an individual job class. For example, to specify that job and window log entries associated with the job class JOBCLASS1 should be retained for 90 days, type the following statement at the SQL prompt:

SQL> EXEC DBMS_SCHEDULER.SET_ATTRIBUTE('JOBCLASS1', 'log_history', '90');

You can also manually purge the entries from window and job logs using the PURGE_LOG procedure. The PURGE_LOG procedure accepts three arguments, log_history, which_log, and job_name. The log_history argument specifies the number of days for which log entries should be kept. The which_log attribute specifies which log to purge, job_log, window_log, or job_and_window_log. The job_name argument allows you to specify a job name or class, or comma-delimited list of job names or job classes, to purge log entries specific to particular jobs. To use the PURGE_LOG procedure to purge all job and window log entries, type the following statement at the SQL prompt:

SQL> EXEC DBMS_SCHEDULER.PURGE_LOG();

To purge the entries from only the job log that are older than five days, type the following statement at the SQL prompt:

SQL> EXEC DBMS_SCHEDULER.PURGE_LOG(log_history=>5,which_log=>'JOB_LOG');

To purge the entries from both the job log and window log for the job JOB1 or the job class JOBCLASS1 that are older than five days, type the following statement at the SQL prompt: SQL> EXEC DBMS_SCHEDULER.PURGE_LOG(log_history=>5,job_name='JOB1, 2 SYS.JOBCLASS1');




Review Checklist: Working with the Scheduler: Oracle 10g New Features for Administrators

Describe the basic and advanced components of the Scheduler.

Describe the process of creating programs.

Describe the process of creating schedules.

Describe the process of creating jobs.

Describe the process of creating job classes.

Describe the process of creating windows.

Describe the process of creating window groups.

Describe how to manage the basic and advanced components of the Scheduler.

Describe how to set the Scheduler attributes.

List various views to display information about the basic and advanced components of the Scheduler.

Describe the process of viewing the information about the jobs in the Scheduler.

Describe how to monitor and manage job and window logs using various database views, including DBA_SCHEDULER_JOB_LOG and DBA_SCHEDULER_WINDOW_LOG.




Taking the Test Strategies The Oracle Certified Associate, Professional, and Master Credentials identify a standard of competence for entry-level and professional job roles that utilize Oracle products. Oracle’s certification program is a recognized credential that signifies a proven level of knowledge and ability. With each level of certification, a higher benchmark of ability is set for greater opportunities and higher pay.

The 1Z0-040 exam is required to upgrade your Oracle9i DBA Certified Professional status. Passing this exam and earning this certification demonstrates your ability to function as an Oracle 10g DBA. Earning your Oracle9i DBA OCP status is a prerequisite for taking this exam.

This exam is proctored, meaning you can take the exam at an Oracle University Training Center or an Authorized Prometric Testing Center.

Oracle Certification Roadmap

The 1Z0-040 exam is required if you are upgrading your Oracle9i DBA OCP certification to Oracle 10g DBA Professional certification. The Oracle 10g DBA Professional credential is a prerequisite for the Oracle 10g DBA Master credential.

An Oracle candidate should combine training with on-the-job experience. Many of the exam questions are based on real-world scenarios so hands-on experience with the software is vital. To review the Oracle 10g DBA OCP upgrade certification track: http://education.oracle.com/pls/web_prod-plq-dad/db_pages.getpage?page_id=41&p_org_id=1001&lang=US&p_exam_id=1Z0_040 To review the objectives for the 1Z0-040 exam: http://education.oracle.com/pls/web_prod-plq-dad/db_pages.getpage?page_id=41&p_org_id=1001&lang=US&p_exam_id=1Z0_040


To register for the exam:

http://education.oracle.com/pls/web_prod-plq-dad/db_pages.getpage?page_id=51

http://education.oracle.com/pls/web_prod-plq-dad/db_pages.getpage?page_id=41&p_org_id=1001&lang=US&p_exam_id=1Z0_040




http://education.oracle.com/pls/web_prod-plq-dad/db_pages.getpage?page_id=51




Resources

Because the exam is based on the Oracle Database 10g: New Features for Administrators instructor-led training, attending this course is the best preparation. However, if you’re unable to attend this class or don’t have access to the materials, you can use the Oracle 10g documentation on the OTN to prepare for the exam:

http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/database/oracle10g/index.html

Test Day Strategies

The most important test day strategy is be thoroughly prepared for the exam beforehand. You must know the material. Cramming the day of the exam is not a good strategy to use for any type of test, especially certification exams. Oracle highly discourages cheating on the un-proctored version. The consecutive proctored exams require SQL proficiency and cheating on this exam will prevent you from passing the other exams.

Oracle allows you to go back to questions that you previously answered, so manage your time wisely. If a question is requiring too much time to answer, you can always select the best possible response, and then return to the question after answering all of the other questions.

General Tips:



• Wear comfortable clothing.

• Allow 2 hours to complete the exam.


• Review the question types carefully before starting the actual exam. Be careful not to bypass this option because you are in a hurry to finish the exam.

• Everything we do has time limitations, so don’t let the pressure overwhelm you.

http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/database/oracle10g/index.html




Oracle Database 10g: New Features for Administrators - Specific Tips:

• Before starting the exam, flip through your short stack of reserved flash cards, Review Checklists and/or personal study notes to remind yourself about terms, topics, and syntax that are likely to appear on the exam.

• Determine how much time you are allotted to answer each question. Do not spend too much time on a given question during your first pass through the exam. If a question is requiring too much time to answer, select the best possible answer, mark the question for review, and return to the question after answering all of the other questions.

Test Items

The 1Z0-040 exam contains only multiple-choice items. While knowing the technical content for this exam is the most important thing you can do to pass the exam, understanding the methodology of the question type and following a strategy of how to answer each type can mean the difference between passing and failing. Below is some specific advice for multiple-choice questions.

Multiple-Choice

1. Read each multiple-choice question with the intention of answering the question without the alternatives that follow. Focus on finding an answer without the help of the alternatives. This will increase your concentration and help you read the question more clearly.

2. Use the process of elimination when you do not know the answer for sure. If the question has a single answer, and four options are listed, eliminate two of these options quickly and then make the decision between the two that remain. This increases your probability to 50/50. Another helpful method of elimination is to use a true-false approach where you identify a likely false alternative. Then, you eliminate it. The true-false elimination method is particularly helpful when the question requires more than one answer.

3. When two very similar answers appear, it is likely that one of them is the correct choice. Test writers often disguise the correct option by giving another option that looks very much like the correct one.

You can download a free demo on our website that mimics the types of questions that will appear on the exam. Sample questions do not cover all the content areas on the exam.



Te s t Preparation


Te s t Preparation

7 0 - 2 9 0 / Microsoft®



220-301 / CompTIA®

A+


1Z0-040 / ORACLE®


SAMPLE STUDY GUIDE

�


CompTIA 220-301 Study Guide

3


Contents

Contents......................................................................................................................... 3 Pass the Exam with the Self Test Study Guide ............................................................................................4 Installation, Configuration, and Upgrading................................................................. 5 System Modules............................................................................................................................................6 Add and Remove Field-Replaceable Modules for Portable Computers .....................................................31 Identify the IRQs, DMAs, and I/O Addresses when Installing and Configuring Devices ............................36 Recognize the Characteristics of Common Peripheral Ports, Cables, and Connectors.............................41 Install and Configure IDE Devices Using the Appropriate Cable Types.....................................................44 Install and Configure Common SCSI Devices Using the Appropriate Cable Types...................................50 Install and Configure Common Peripheral Devices ....................................................................................55 Optimize PC Operations in Specific Situations...........................................................................................59 Determine the Issues While Upgrading the Desktop Computer .................................................................61 Review Checklist: Installation, Configuration, and Upgrading ....................................................................64 Diagnosing and Troubleshooting Common Hardware Problems ........................... 67 Troubleshooting Common Problems associated with Hardware Components ..........................................68 Basic Troubleshooting Procedures for Hardware and Software.................................................................93 Review Checklist: Diagnosing and Troubleshooting Common Hardware Problems..................................95 PC Preventive Maintenance, Safety, and Environmental Issues............................. 96 Preventive Maintenance Measures and Products ......................................................................................97 Safety Measures and Procedures.............................................................................................................103 Environmental Protection Measures and Procedures ..............................................................................107 Review Checklist: PC Preventive Maintenance, Safety, and Environmental Issues................................108 Processors and Memory........................................................................................... 109 Processors ................................................................................................................................................110 Memory .....................................................................................................................................................118 Review Checklist: Processors and Memory..............................................................................................124 Motherboards and CMOS ......................................................................................... 125 Motherboards ............................................................................................................................................126 Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS).............................................................................140 Review Checklist: Motherboards and CMOS............................................................................................147 Printers....................................................................................................................... 148 Identify Printer Technologies, Interfaces, and Upgrades..........................................................................149 Recognize Common Printer Problems and Techniques Used to Resolve Problems...............................159 Review Checklist: Printers ........................................................................................................................168 Basic Networking ...................................................................................................... 169 Identify the Common Types of Network Cables, their Characteristics and Connectors...........................170 Identify Basic Networking Concepts Including How a Network Works .....................................................178 Identify Common Technologies Available for Establishing Connectivity ..................................................185 Review Checklist: Basic Networking.........................................................................................................189 Taking the Test Strategies ........................................................................................................................190 Thank You and Good Luck on your Exams! .............................................................................................192


Contents



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PC Preventive Maintenance, Safety, and Environmental Issues


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Preventive Maintenance Measures and Products Scope

Discuss liquid cleaning compounds. Discuss materials used to clean contacts and connections. Discuss cleaning monitors and removable media devices. Discuss vacuum cleaners. Discuss ventilation and moisture-control of the PC interior. Discuss the Defrag, ScanDisk, and Chkdsk software tools. Discuss Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPSs) and surge suppressors.

Focused Explanation

Preventive maintenance deals with performing maintenance procedures to prevent failure of the computer system. Most preventive maintenance procedures deal with keeping the computers clean and cool and performing regular software housekeeping.

Cleaning

The exterior surfaces of the computer, such as the system case, monitor, keyboard, and mouse, can be cleaned with a cloth dampened with soap solution. After cleaning with the soap solution, wipe off the exterior surfaces of the computer with a cloth wetted with water and then wipe dry. Use a lint-free cloth for all operations. Follow this up by spraying the components with antistatic spray, allowing the components to dry before use. Take care to prevent liquids from dripping into the interiors of the components being cleaned.

Caution: Power down all components, and ensure that external power cables are physically disconnected from all equipment being cleaned.

A keyboard can be immersed in water to clean it. Use demineralized water to prevent deposits within the keyboard switch contacts. Caution: Allow the keyboard to dry thoroughly before reconnection.

You should avoid the use of commercial cleaning compounds, solvents, and spray cleaners. Such products harm plastic surfaces. In particular, you should avoid using sprays on the face of the monitor. Use only a cloth dampened with soap and water. Be extra careful while cleaning the face of LCD monitors because the plastic surface scratches easily.

Electrical contacts often develop a layer of oxide that hinders the flow of current. The oxide layer can be cleaned off by gently swabbing the surface with isopropyl alcohol, using a cotton swab. The swabbing removes oxide deposits and grime. Most adapter boards and sockets use gold plated contacts. These should be unplugged and then plugged back in to improve the connection.

Note: Remember to take ESD precautions when handling components inside the system case.

Dust build-up within the computer case can be harmful. A layer of dust forms a thermally insulating blanket that reduces the cooling efficiency of the case. Because the power supply unit fan pulls in air into the case, dust build-up cannot be eliminated.

However, you can control the accumulation of dust in the system case by:


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• Ensuring that all slot covers are in place. Missing slot covers allow dust to enter the system case.

• Ensuring that the covers for the system case are fitted correctly. Badly fitted covers allow dust to enter the system case.

• Keeping the work environment as clean and dust free as possible. Clean surroundings mean less dust to be sucked in by the power supply unit fan.

Dust accumulation is also inevitable in keyboards, mouse, and removable media drives.

Dust should generally be blown off or vacuumed off. Remove the covers from the system case and vacuum loose dust from the inside. Use pressurized canned air to blow off the remaining dust. Use a vacuum cleaner simultaneously; otherwise, the dust will merely be redistributed. You can also clean keyboards, mouse, and removable media drives in a similar manner.

Periodically dismount removable media drives (floppy and tape drives specifically), remove the covers to expose the read-write heads, and clean the heads with a foam swab moistened with isopropyl alcohol. For removable media drives, such as CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drives, use a cleaning kit. The cleaning kit consists of a disk with a brush cemented to the surface. Inserting the disk and allowing it to spin in the drive cleans the lens of the read head.

A mouse ball picks up dirt and lint from the table or mouse pad as it rolls around. The lint usually ends up wrapped around the internal rollers that touch the ball. This causes the mouse to move in a jerky manner. Periodically remove the mouse ball and clean it with a lint-free cloth dampened with isopropyl alcohol. Remove the deposits on the rollers with a swab moistened with isopropyl alcohol. Caution: Do not attempt to scrape off the deposits with a fingernail or a sharp tool. This damages the rollers.

A hard disk can incur immediate damage from contact with dust. A hard disk drive can experience a head crash, in which a hard drive's read/write head comes into physical contact with a hard disk platter, merely from incidental contact with dust. A computer's read/write head normally operates at approximately 10 millionths of an inch from a hard disk platter. This extremely close proximity allows a read/write head to pack data very densely on a hard disk, but requires that hard disk designers pay careful attention to a drive assembly's immediate environment.

For example, a typical dust particle has a diameter larger than the separation between a hard disk platter and its read/write head; thus, a dust particle can cause a disk crash if it enters a computer's drive assembly. Modern hard disk assemblies are sealed in airtight chambers that prevent foreign particles from interfering with disk operation. In mild cases, simply formatting a hard disk will restore it to operational status after a head crash, but more severe head crashes can render a disk unusable. Accumulation of dust over time can cause damage to other computer components by preventing proper heat dissipation, but contact with dust does not present the prospect for immediate failure of those components.

Ventilation and Moisture Control

The components inside the system case tend to heat up during normal use. Under normal circumstances, the power supply unit fan cools down the components by forcing air through the case. If temperatures rise high enough, the cooling provided by the fan may be inadequate. Temperatures also tend to rise if the air


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that is expelled through the vents in the system case is obstructed. High temperatures may cause intermittent errors and may also lead to component failure. High humidity may lead to corrosion of electrical contacts leading to computer malfunction.

To minimize problems due to heat build-up and humidity, ensure that:

• Books and stationery items scattered around the computer do not obstruct the airflow from the system case.

• Heaters in the room do not unduly warm up the computer. Keep computers away from heaters. Do not locate computers where direct sunlight falls on them. Sunlight may lead to overheating.

• Computer furniture is designed to allow the free flow of air from within the system case.

Note: An air-conditioned environment is favorable to control humidity and temperature.

A change in the temperature of the computer components can cause chip creep. Chip creep occurs over extended periods of time when expansion and contraction takes places due to heating and cooling of computer components. The expansion and contraction of the computer components cause socketed chips to creep out of their sockets.

Chip creep will not occur with chips that have soldered connections to a system board. Continuous chip creep can eventually cause a circuit board to stop functioning. Therefore, you should push socketed chips into a computer's system board and attempt to restart the computer before you discard a system board that appears to have failed. Some technicians adopt the practice of pushing all socketed chips into place when working with a system board to delay the onset of chip creep. Chip creep can be avoided by leaving a computer continuously on. A computer left on continuously has fewer changes in temperature. Fewer shifts in temperature slow down the progress of chip creep.

Software Tools for Disks

The hard disk in a computer develops errors after a period of use. Many errors are software errors, such as cross-linked files, lost clusters, and errors in the FAT. These errors can be repaired through software tools. ScanDisk is a software tool that repairs such errors. ScanDisk has options to automatically perform repairs without user intervention. ScanDisk detects and repairs logical and physical errors on Windows 9x and Windows ME hard disks. ScanDisk can solve the following problems:

• File allocation table. ScanDisk fixes problems associated with the file allocation table (FAT). The file allocation table is a mapping of the storage areas of the disk (clusters) and the files that are stored on the disk.

• Long filename support. Windows stores long filenames along with a shorter 8.3 equivalent filename. ScanDisk is compatible with long filenames and can repair malformed filenames.

• Lost clusters. A cluster that is marked as used in the FAT, but which is not actually used by any stored file is a lost cluster. ScanDisk recovers and marks lost clusters as unused.


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• Cross-linked files. Cross-linked files store data on each others’ clusters. Cross-linked files represent data errors. ScanDisk detects and fixes cross-linked files.

• Directory structure. ScanDisk checks for directory errors, such as circular references, and corrects these. An example of a circular reference is a subdirectory that is marked as a subdirectory of itself.

• Compressed drives. ScanDisk is compatible with and can correct errors in compressed volumes.

Note: ScanDisk is not supported in Windows 2000, Windows 2003 and Windows XP. The Disk Defragmenter utility is provided for these operating systems.

A command-line variation of ScanDisk is called Chkdsk. Chkdsk can fix only two specific problems:

• Lost clusters – Includes clusters that are marked in the file allocation table as being in use, but are not in use, and the system cannot link to any file.

• Cross-linked files – Occurs when two or more files are both marked as "owning" the same cluster in the file allocation table. Usually, the last file updated is correct.

Chkdsk can fix both of these problems in Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows XP.

With continued use, a hard disk becomes fragmented. A fragmented disk contains files that are stored in chunks scattered around the disk. This is not an error condition, but represents a non-optimal state of operation, where file access speed is degraded. The disk may be optimized by running a defragmentation utility that defragments the drive by rearranging the chunks in a more contiguous fashion. Available defragmentation utilities include the command-line utility Defrag and the Windows utility Disk Defragmenter. The command-line utility Defrag is used in Windows 9x and Windows ME. The Windows utility Disk Defragmenter is used in all Windows operating systems.

Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) and Surge Protection

Computers are at risk from voltage surges that occur on AC power lines. A surge is a high-voltage pulse, lasting a few milliseconds that rides on the normal 110 volts of the AC supply. Although a surge is unnoticeable and usually harmless for normal operation, it can potentially burn out a power supply unit and destroy a system board full of components.

To protect computers, use surge protectors. A surge protector is a device that absorbs the energy of a surge, lowering the voltage to safe limits. The surge suppressor consists of a Metal Oxide Varistor (MOV) along with some associated circuitry. The MOV has a characteristic clamp voltage (the voltage of a surge at which the MOV will be triggered) and a clamping speed that dictates how fast it will react to surges. The clamping speed is a measure of how quickly a surge suppressor responds after the incoming voltage reaches a threshold level referred to as the clamping voltage. The access speed is a measure of the time required to retrieve information from a storage device. The bus and transfer speeds measure data transmission rates. Usually the surge protector will be destroyed in the process of suppressing a surge and must be replaced.


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Apart from power surges, the main power supply can also exhibit voltage sags. A voltage sag is a short-duration low-voltage condition. A voltage sag may cause computers to reboot unexpectedly. A brownout is a longer duration voltage sag.

An unexpected power failure in the middle of a computing session can cause data loss and may corrupt the operating system. Depending on the tasks being performed on the computer, the impact of either data loss or downtime due to a corrupted operating system can range from an inconvenience to a disaster. An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) continues to deliver power to computers even when the main power supply fails.

A UPS contains the following components:

• Input power conditioning circuitry – Filters the main power supply to the UPS, smoothing out transient disturbances. Some form of surge protection is also provided.

• A battery – Supplies power to any equipment that is connected to the UPS. The battery is charged from the main power supply. When an outage occurs, the switchover from main power to battery is usually seamless.

• An inverter – Transforms the low voltage DC available from the battery to 110 V AC required by the connected equipment.

Each UPS is rated for a specific load, specified as the volt ampere (VA) rating of the UPS. This is the product of the output voltage and the maximum current that the UPS can supply at any time. The UPS will trip in case the connected load exceeds the VA rating. The battery of a UPS can supply power only for a limited time. When the battery runs out of charge, the UPS shuts down. The period for which the UPS can sustain the VA-rated output is called the backup time. The backup time is governed by the ampere-hour rating of the battery. This is the product of the maximum sustained current that the battery can supply over an hour. A 10-ampere hour (10 Ah) battery can supply 10 amps for an hour or 1 amp over 10 hours.

Most of the available UPSs in the market are equipped with Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR) feature. The AVR feature protects electronic equipment from power surges and drops, and supplies it with battery power if necessary. The UPS monitors the line power, and the Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR) circuitry balances out voltage or frequency fluctuations to guarantee a clean, consistent power supply.

When the battery of a UPS runs down, it may signal impending shutdown through an audible warning. Most UPSs include power management utility software that can be loaded onto the computer. The UPS is connected to the serial port of the computer using a serial cable. When the battery runs low, the UPS signals the power management utility to initiate an orderly shutdown of the computer. In this manner, data loss and file corruption are avoided even when the UPS battery runs down.

Table 3-1 lists the tests that you can use to verify that a UPS is in working condition.


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Nature of the Verification Test Procedure Comments

Verify that the UPS is operational.

With an operational computer connected, turn off the power supply to the UPS at the wall socket. Use a computer in which data loss can be tolerated, such as a computer that has no data.

The computer needs to be operational.

Verify the VA rating of the UPS Create a load equal to the UPS rating using light bulbs in parallel. This is only feasible for small UPSs. Power the load with the UPS. Measure the voltage at the output of the UPS to verify that it is within limits, usually 10% of the nominal voltage.

The UPS should be able to supply the load without tripping.

Verify the backup time of the UPS

Create a load, equaling the VA rating of the UPS, using light bulbs in parallel. Power the load from the UPS.

The UPS should be able to supply the load for the required interval before shutdown.

Table 3-1: Verifying UPS Operation


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Safety Measures and Procedures Scope

Discuss electrostatic discharge precautions and procedures, including problems and protection devices. Discuss situations that pose a potential hazard. Discuss safety procedures relating to high-voltage equipment, including the power supply unit and cathode ray tube.

Focused Explanation

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is a hazard for computer components. Static charges are electric charges that build-up on most insulating material. Positive and negative charges on different material represent a potential difference. Whenever the charges find a conductive path, current flows from the higher potential to the lower. Static potentials can be as high as 25,000 volts and can ionize air, causing a spark to move from your fingertips to the pins of an electronic component.

The flow of static current is termed electrostatic discharge. Although the voltages involved are very high, static charges are harmless to humans because the currents involved are very small. However, for electronic components, ESD is very harmful and can permanently damage circuits.

Manufacturers ship all static-sensitive devices in special bags that are known as the static-shielding bags. You should always transport and store boards and ICs in static-shielding bags. The bags must be in perfect condition because even tiny pinholes defeat their purpose. Proper static-shielding bags normally have a gray-silver tint. Antistatic bags and static-shielding bags do not provide the same type of protection. Antistatic bags do not shield their contents from external static fields and should not be used to store or transport boards and integrated circuits.

Low Humidity

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) problems are much more likely to occur in areas with low humidity. You should keep the humidity of any area where you will work on open computers between 70 and 90 percent.

ESD problems usually occur during the winter months when the humidity is low or in dry climates where the humidity is low year-round. Static discharges can damage sensitive computer components, but their effects are not always seen immediately and can be difficult to diagnose.

ESD practices

Computer components are at risk from ESD when you are installing them. In particular, circuit boards, including those found within disk drives, are vulnerable. While handling components during installation and removal, certain precautions should be taken to minimize the risk of damage caused by ESD.

Table 3-2 indicates common ESD protection practices.


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Practice Comment

Avoid the use of carpeting in work areas or use antistatic carpeting.

Carpets promote build-up of static charges.

Use antistatic sprays on floors and work areas. Antistatic sprays prevent the build-up of static charges.

Use an antistatic wristband while handling computer components that you are installing or removing.

An antistatic wristband consists of a cuff that is strapped on the wrist. A grounding wire is connected to an electrical ground connection. The wrist strap conducts away static charges from the hand, thereby preventing ESD.

Before handling components, discharge static from your fingertips by touching a grounded component.

Touching a grounded component, such as an exposed or unpainted part of the system unit case, conducts away static charges. Touching the system case is effective only if the case is grounded, that is, the power cable is connected to the wall socket.

If the humidity is less than 50%, use a room humidifier.

A humidifier raises the relative humidity of the surroundings and lessens the chances of static build-up.

Table 3-2: Common ESD Protection Practices

Besides the above mentioned ESD protection practices, you should also consider the following:

• Never touch components or integrated chips by their electrical leads.

• Do not allow anyone to touch you when you are working on boards that contain integrated circuits (ICs).

• Always transport and store boards and ICs in static-shielding bags.

• Watch for nonconductors. Nonconductors are a source of static charges.

• Practice ESD prevention throughout the lifecycle of components.

Hazardous situations

Within the computer and in the environment in which computers are used, there are some health hazards (including some that are potentially life-threatening) of which you should be aware. Most of these relate to the possibility of receiving an electric shock while performing repairs. Hazard points are the 110-volt electric supply that powers computers and other equipment and high voltage sources within the monitor and power supply units. Additional hazards include laser radiation that may damage eyes and high temperature parts that can cause burns.


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In dealing with the 110-volt AC supply, observe the normal precautions that are well-known, such as wearing shoes with insulating soles, using tools with insulated handles, and never touching live wires with bare hands.

The cathode ray tube inside monitors contains very high-voltage components. Capacitors within the circuitry retain lethal voltages even after the monitor has been switched off. Trained repair personnel first discharge the capacitors by diffusing the charge with a screwdriver. Do not open the monitor or attempt any internal repairs on the monitor unless you are trained to do so. Send the monitor for servicing rather than attempting repairs yourself.

The power supply is a field replaceable unit (FRU). When the fan in the power supply stops functioning normally, you should replace the entire power supply. Only properly trained technicians should repair the power supply, which has potentially lethal voltages. Be sure to use a replacement unit of the same or greater wattage and with the same type of output connectors; the system board connection for an AT or Baby AT board is different from the connector for an ATX-style board. Also, check for any special features supported by the system board.

Some power supplies have a multi-speed fan that uses a special control cable connected to the system board. When the interior of the case reaches a certain temperature, the fan speed is increased to provide additional cooling. Otherwise, the fan runs at a slower and quieter speed. Under all circumstances, the computer should be disconnected from the electrical outlet before any repair work on the power supply is begun. The power supply unit inside the system case also generates lethal voltages. Although these voltages are not transmitted outside the PSU covers, the voltages can exist even after the PSU has been switched off.

The fan inside the power supply is especially important for cooling the computer electronics. This fan exhausts hot air from the case, which causes cooler outside air to be drawn into the case. A cooling fan mounted on a card helps prevent hot spots inside the case by providing better interior circulation, but it will not exhaust hot air. The fan inside the power supply does not require lubrication or other maintenance, such as bearing replacement. Do not open a power supply unit. Send the PSU for servicing, rather than attempting repairs yourself.

Laser printers contain lasers that can permanently damage eyes. There are also high-voltage areas and high-temperature areas, all of which should be considered hazards. Dot-matrix printers contain print heads that can become hot enough to be considered a burn hazard. In general, do not attempt printer servicing unless you are trained to do so.

You should always have a portable fire extinguisher near a computer. In case of a situation where an electrical component catches fire, you can use a portable fire extinguisher of Class C. A Class C fire extinguisher is uniquely intended to fight electrical fires, such as fires that involve computer equipment. Class C fire extinguishers use carbon dioxide (CO2) or Halon to extinguish fires. A Class C fire extinguisher can be used to extinguish Class A fires, Class B fires, or both Class A and Class B fires; the respective classifications are A/C, B/C, and A/B/C.

There are other classes of portable fire extinguishers. Each class of fire extinguisher is designed to fight certain types of fires. These classes of fire extinguishers are:


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• A Class A fire extinguisher is intended to fight fires that involve ordinary combustible materials, such as wood or paper. Class A fire extinguishers are water-based.

• A Class B fire extinguisher is intended to fight fires that involve flammable liquids, such as oil, grease, or gasoline. Class B fire extinguishers can contain dry chemicals, foam, or liquid CO2.

• A Class D fire extinguisher is intended to fight fires that involve flammable metals, such as magnesium or sodium. Class D fire extinguishers typically contain graphite or sodium chloride.


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Environmental Protection Measures and Procedures Scope

Discuss special disposal procedures that comply with environmental guidelines. Discuss the material safety data sheet (MSDS).

Focused Explanation

Most computer components contain small quantities of materials that are deemed environmentally hazardous. Components, such as batteries, cathode ray tubes, and printed circuit boards, contain heavy metals, alkalis, and other environmentally-detrimental materials. Consequently, you must exercise due care when disposing of used computers and components. Guidelines you should follow include:

• Where possible, recycle computers. Donating them is a good practice and may even be tax-deductible.

• Return used laser printer cartridges and batteries to the manufacturer for recycling or disposal. Many manufacturers have a service for accepting used cartridges and batteries.

• Whenever you must dispose of computers and components, conform to local guidelines governing disposal.

• CRTs contain heavy metals and other chemical pollutants. The high vacuum within a CRT is also a safety hazard. Disposal of CRTs requires due care. Unwanted monitors in working condition can be donated. If they must be dumped, ensure that you conform to local guidelines.

Wherever hazardous material is used or stored, a material safety data sheet (MSDS) must be made available. The MSDS provides information on the hazardous nature of and the methods for safe handling of the materials. If the hazardous materials are transferred or sold, the MSDS must be supplied with the materials.

Note: Computers contain components that are considered hazardous wastes. In older monitors (CRTs), the main hazardous waste product is lead. The frit or the material that joins the front and back panels of the monitor is almost pure lead. Therefore, when disposing of a monitor, it is a good practice to ship it to a computer/electronics recycler.


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Review Checklist: PC Preventive Maintenance, Safety, and Environmental Issues

Discuss liquid cleaning compounds.

Discuss materials to clean contacts and connections.

Discuss cleaning monitors and removable media devices.

Discuss vacuum cleaners.

Discuss ventilation and moisture-control of the PC interior.

Discuss the Defrag, ScanDisk, and Chkdsk software tools.

Discuss Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPSs) and surge suppressors.

Discuss electrostatic discharge precautions and procedures, including problems and protection devices.

Discuss situations that pose a potential hazard.

Discuss safety procedures relating to high-voltage equipment, including the power supply unit and cathode ray tube.

Discuss special disposal procedures that comply with environmental guidelines.

Discuss the material safety data sheet (MSDS).


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Taking the Test Strategies

The CompTIA A+ certification is designed for entry-level computer technicians. Every business uses

computers, and skilled technicians are in demand. Obtaining an A+ certification proves that you have a

broad base of knowledge and competency in core hardware and operating system technologies, including

installation, configuration, diagnosing, preventive maintenance and basic networking. Two exams are

required for the CompTIA A+ certification: A+ Core Hardware (220-301) and A+ Core Operating System

Technologies (220-302).

The 220-301 exam is a proctored exam, which may be taken at a Prometric testing center or a VUE testing center.


An exam candidate may register for the 220-301 exam at one of the following Web sites:

http://www.vue.com

or

http://www.prometric.com

Resources

There are several resources that you can use to prepare for this exam. Reference material for our practice test can be found in the following publication by Que Publishing:

A+ Training Guide

Author: Charles J. Brooks

ISBN: 0-7897-3044-8

Test Day Strategies

You should prepare thoroughly for the exam prior to the date that you have scheduled it. Attempting to cram on exam day is not a recommended strategy for any type of exam, especially certification exams.

CompTIA allows you to return to previously answered questions, so manage your time wisely. If a question requires too much time to answer, select the best possible answer, mark the item for review, and return to the question after you have answered all of the other questions.

General Tips



http://www.vue.com/

http://www.prometric.com/


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• Eliminate all distractions from your testing area.

• Allow 2.5 hours to complete the registration and exam.


• Review the question types carefully before you begin the actual exam. Be careful not to miss this opportunity simply because you are in a hurry to begin.

• Don’t focus on the time limitations. Take your time and carefully review each question and its choices.

A+ Core Hardware Technologies

• Before you begin the exam, review your short stack of reserved flash cards, review checklists, and/or personal study notes to remind yourself of terms, topics, and syntax that are likely to appear on the exam.

• Determine how much time you are allotted to answer each question. Do not spend too much time on a given question during your first pass through the exam.

• Remember that if you take a break during the exam, the time clock continues.

• If you are disconnected during the exam, you will be able to resume at the point at which you were interrupted.

Test Item Types

The 220-301 exam contains multiple-choice items. Mastering the technical content for this exam is necessary in order to pass the exam; however, understanding the methodology of the item type and following a strategy of how to answer each type can mean the difference between passing and failing.

Multiple-Choice Items

1. Read each multiple-choice item with the intention of answering the item without the alternatives that follow. Determining the answer without the help of the alternative choices will increase your concentration and will help you to read the question more clearly.

2. Use the process of elimination when you are unsure of the answer. If the question has a single answer and four options are listed, eliminate two of these options quickly and make the decision between the remaining two. This increases your probability to 50/50. You can also attempt to identify a likely false alternative and eliminate it. This elimination method is particularly helpful when the item requires more than one answer.

3. When two very similar answers appear, it is likely that one of them is the correct choice. Test writers often disguise the correct option by providing another option that looks very similar.

You can download a free demo on our Web site that mimics the types of questions that will appear on the exam. Be advised that sample questions do not cover all content areas on the exam.

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Self Test Study Guide Sample